Butterfly species: Papilio dardanus The butterfly Papilio dardanus is well known for the spectacular phenotypic polymorphism in the female of the species.  These patterns are one of the most spectacular and vivid examples of pattern formation in developmental biology. The challenge from an experimental and theoretical point of view is the understanding of the underlying genetic, chemical and physical processes that lead to such a variety of rich patterns. Examples of these patterns are shown in pictures below.  Finite element simulation results on a geometrically accurate adult wing shape Here we show numerical results of a reaction diffusion model solved on a geometrically accurate wing domain, illustrating how the model equations spatial patterns that are consistent with those observed in nature. Our results suggest that the wing coloration is due to a simple underlying stripe-like pattern of the  pigment-inducing morphogen. In our efforts to produce these results, we found a very strong relationship between the parameter values for the mode selection, threshold values which determine color, wing shape and the boundary conditions. These factors  could be linked to gene activity, this is the focus of current research. Experimental patterns vs. numerical results The pictures below show how numerical results approximate closely those patterns observed in butterfly patterns of Papilio dardanus. The agreement is pretty remarkable!