Templates, Evolutionary Pathways and Biodiversity Revolutions: Tales of Mimicry in Swallowtails

The earth's biodiversity manifests itself as a spectacular radiation of species as well as morphological diversity. Is diversification facilitated by certain evolutionary pathways and adaptive templates? I address this question with tales of mimetic swallowtail butterflies. Swallowtails are hyper-diverse in species as well as sex-specific and polymorphic mimetic forms. I show that: (a) this diversity follows a narrow set of evolutionary pathways that compound morphological complexity, (b) a chemical color template drives wing pattern diversity, and (c) a few key genes under persistent and episodic selection facilitate rapid divergence under ecological selection for mimicry. Swallowtails thus reveal the processes and mechanisms that are the engines of biodiversification in their tropical abodes.