Mutualisms

Relationships like that between ants and lycaenids (a butterfly lycaenid is pictured opposite on Naomi's hand) are called mutualism; many examples of mutualism are known, and they provide some of the most charming details in natural history.

Does coadaptation imply coevolution?

Logically, however, the observation of coadaptation between two species, such as an ant and a caterpillar, is not not enough to confirm that the two have coevolved together. As Naomi Pierce points out, it could be that the two lineages have been evolving independently, and it just turned that the two forms were mutually adapted to each other.

Naomi Pierce explains the difference between coevolution and coadaptation.