Larval epidermis of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus

Transcriptional profiling of larval epidermis at specific markings were examined using 11 developmental stages. Gene expression level was compared between mimetic white, cryptic thorax, and cryptic abdomen vs. mimetic black, cryptic eyespot, and cryptic V-shaped markings in all stages. For initial screening of marking-specific genes, 6 developmental stages for mimetic pattern, and 5 developmental stages for cryptic pattern was used. Mimetic white, cryptic thorax, and cryptic abdomen were independently labelled with Cyanine 3-CTP (Cy3), and mimetic black, cryptic eyespot, and cryptic V-shaped markings were independently labelled with Cyanine 5-CTP (Cy5) in all stages.