How do foraging Papilio butterflies see polarized light?
” Perception 35 ECVP Abstract Supplement How do foraging Papilio butterflies see polarized light? K Yamazato, K Arikawa, M Kinoshita Papilio butterflies use colour vision for food search. The retina of Papilio contains at least six classes of spectral photoreceptor. Each spectral photoreceptor is sensitive to polarised light with specific e-vector angle. Such a retinal organisation might allow the butterflies to see differently polarised lights as different colours. Is it true? We first presented two polarised lights, one horizontally (H) polarized and the other vertically (V) polarised, to newly emerged Papilio butterflies and observed their selection. The test showed that Papilio innately prefers V to H. It was very difficult to train Papilio to H, so we trained them to unpolarised red (UPR). In the test we presented two stimuli side by side. One was always UPR. Another was either UPR, polarised red (PR) or unpolarised orange (UPO). In the test with the UPR – UPR combination, butterf
