In a Batesian mimic butterfly Papilio polytes, mimetic females resemble an unpalatable model, Pachliopta aristolochiae, but exhibit a different color pattern from nonmimetic females and males. In particular, the pale-yellow region on hind wings, which correspondingly sends important putative signals for mimicry and mate preference, is different in shape and chemical features between nonmimetic and mimetic morphs. Recently, we found that mimetic-type doublesex [dsx (H)] causes mimetic traits; however, the control of dimorphic pale-yellow colors remains unclear. Here, we revealed that dsx (H) switched the pale-yellow colors from UV-excited fluorescent type (nonmimetic) to UV-reflecting type (mimetic), by repressing the papiliochrome II synthesis genes and nanostructural changes in wing scales. Photoreceptor reactivities showed that some birds and butterflies could effectively recognize mimetic and nonmimetic pale-yellow colors, suggesting that a genetic switch in the UV response of pale-yellow colors may play essential roles in establishing the dimorphic female-limited Batesian mimicry.

在 Batesian 拟态蝴蝶Papilio polytes中，拟态雌性类似于难吃的模型Pachliopta aristolochiae，但表现出与非拟态雌性和雄性不同的颜色模式。特别是后翅上的淡黄色区域，相应地发出重要的拟态和配偶偏好的推定信号，在非拟态和拟态形态之间的形状和化学特征是不同的。最近，我们发现拟态型doublesex [ dsx (H) ] 会导致拟态性状；然而，二态淡黄色的控制仍不清楚。在这里，我们揭示了dsx (H)通过抑制 papiliochrome II 合成基因和翼鳞的纳米结构变化，将淡黄色从紫外线激发的荧光型（非模拟）转换为紫外线反射型（模拟）。光感受器反应表明，一些鸟类和蝴蝶可以有效地识别拟态和非拟态的淡黄色，这表明淡黄色的紫外线响应中的基因转换可能在建立二态雌性有限的 Batesian 拟态中发挥重要作用。