Frequency dependence shapes the adaptive landscape of imperfect Batesian mimicry.

Despite more than a century of biological research on the evolution and maintenance of mimetic signals, the relative frequencies of models and mimics necessary to establish and maintain Batesian mimicry in natural populations remain understudied. Here we investigate the frequency-dependent dynamics of imperfect Batesian mimicry, using predation experiments involving artificial butterfly models. We use two geographically distinct populations of butterflies that vary in their relative frequencies of a putatively defended model () and Batesian mimic ().