1979] 
Silberglied, Aiello & Lamas — Genus Anartia 
235 
other hand, Fosdick’s population of A. amathea in Ecuador was 
skewed toward females; it is likely that his site contained an abund¬ 
ant supply of larval foodplant on which females oviposited. 
Survivorship was low in all populations studied, and it appears 
that under natural conditions, adult life is short—averaging from 
one to two weeks (maximum 9 weeks) in the field (R. E. S. and A. 
A., unpubl.). Young (1972) reported a longevity of 45 days in the 
laboratory. Adults are subject to heavy predation during their adult 
lives (see below). There are no field studies of the immature stages of 
any species. 
Palatability and natural enemies 
Due to their wide geographic ranges and local abundance, the 
three mainland species of Anartia have frequently been used in 
experiments on butterfly palatability, mimicry and predator learn¬ 
ing. All three species were completely acceptable to the numerous 
insectivorous vertebrate and invertebrate predators to which they 
were offered (Table 2). Human subjects report that A. fatima have 
“no taste” or a “walnut flavor” (Emmel, et al., 1968). The predators 
of adult Anartia are those generalist insectivores common in dis¬ 
turbed habitats, especially spiders and insectivorous birds. Larvae 
probably suffer greatly from predation by social and solitary wasps. 
We have reared one (unidentified) tachinid parasitoid from a wild 
Anartia larva, but have never encountered viral or bacterial disease 
during the rearing of over 5,000 individuals. 
In spite of their palatability, Anartia are often the most common 
species in the habitats where they occur. The tremendous losses of 
adults, and probably greater losses of larvae, are more than com¬ 
pensated for by the great fecundity in this genus (see below). 
Function of coloration 
Various functions have been suggested for the color patterns of 
Anartia species. Anartia orient to the sun and bask (Longstaff, 
1912; Fosdick, 1973). There is no distal circulation in their wings, so 
only the colors of the body and wing bases play a role in thermoreg¬ 
ulation (see Wasserthal, 1975; Douglas, 1979). 
Brower, et al. (1971) present convincing experimental evidence to 
support the idea that A. amathea is an “incipient” Batesian mimic of 
Heliconius erato. Caged predators that tasted, and learned to avoid, 
H. erato, also refused the similar-colored A. amathea, even though 
