The detail is that looking and smelling are all done simultaneously. These black and orange butterflies have incredibly small brains, but they need to process both sensory inputs at the same time: The visual signal is necessary to see the suitor's wing pattern, to see if it is in fact that of a Heliconius butterfly, while the signal chemical pheromones released by the other butterfly is essential to see if it is also in the mood.
You are viewing a single comment's thread from: