Beetle pollinators of a particular plant are attracted to its flowers' bright orange color. The beetles not only pollinate the flowers, but they mate while inside the flowers. A mutant version of the plant with red flowers becomes more common with the passage of time. A particular variant of the beetle prefers the red flowers to the orange flowers. Over time, these two beetle variants diverge from each other to such an extent that interbreeding is no longer possible. What kind of speciation has occurred in this example, and what has driven it?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of sympatric speciation driven by habitat differentiation, as the beetles diverge due to a preference for different flower colors within the same geographic area.

Beetle Pollinators of a Particular Plant Are Attracted to Its