Stress-Induced Color-Pattern Modifications and Evolution of the Painted Lady Butterflies Vanessa cardui and Vanessa kershawi

Ten traits of wing color-pattern were identified, with most showing darker coloration in the Australian Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa kershawi.

• The Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa cardui and the Australian Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa kershawi are sister species with notable morphological differences.
• V. kershawi exhibits a darker coloration, except for the presence of blue foci at the center of black elements, which are unique to this species.
• Behavioral and life history differences between the two species are minimal, though V. kershawi prefers arid environments.
• Stress-induced treatments on V. cardui, such as low temperature or chemical injection, resulted in darker coloration and the appearance of blue foci.
• These stress-induced changes in V. cardui are indicative of phenotypic plasticity.
• It is proposed that natural selection may have shaped V. kershawi's traits through the exploitation of ancestral phenotypic plasticity.

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