Data from: Warning signals are seductive: relative contributions of color and pattern to predator avoidance and mate attraction in Heliconius butterflies

Visual signaling in animals can serve many uses, including predator
deterrence and mate attraction. In many cases, signals used to advertise
unprofitability to predators are also used for intraspecific
communication. Although aposematism and mate choice are significant forces
driving the evolution of many animal phenotypes, the interplay between
relevant visual signals remains little explored. Here, we address this
question in the aposematic passion-vine butterfly Heliconius erato by
using color- and pattern-manipulated models to test the contributions of
different visual features to both mate choice and warning coloration. We
found that the relative effectiveness of a model at escaping predation was
correlated with its effectiveness at inducing mating behavior, and in both
cases wing color was more predictive of presumptive fitness benefits than
wing pattern. Overall, however, a combination of the natural (local) color
and pattern was most successful for both predator deterrence and mate
attraction. By exploring the relative contributions of color versus
pattern composition in predation and mate preference studies, we have
shown how both natural and sexual selection may work in parallel to drive
the evolution of specific animal color patterns.