Data from: Selection on male sex pheromone composition contributes to butterfly reproductive isolation

Selection can facilitate diversification by inducing character
displacement in mate choice traits that reduce the probability of
maladaptive mating between lineages. Although reproductive character
displacement (RCD) has been demonstrated in two-taxa case studies, the
frequency of this process in nature is still debated. Moreover, studies
have focused primarily on visual and acoustic traits, despite the fact
that chemical communication is probably the most common means of species
recognition. Here, we showed in a large, mostly sympatric, butterfly
genus, a strong pattern of recurrent RCD for predicted male sex pheromone
composition, but not for visual mate choice traits. Our results suggest
that RCD is not anecdotal, and that selection for divergence in male sex
pheromone composition contributed to reproductive isolation within the
Bicyclus genus. We propose that selection may target olfactory mate choice
traits as a more common sensory modality to ensure reproductive isolation
among diverging lineages than previously envisaged.