Convergent bands on the wings, tapered hindwings, white-tipped tails, and everted anal lobes, as well as alternating hindwing movements while landed, have been hypothesized to direct the attack of visually hunting predators to the less vulnerable hind end of some lycaenid butterflies. Because this combination of wing pattern and behavioral elements presumably convey the impression of a head at the hind end of the butterfly, it is known as the “false head” hypothesis. According to the current classification of the Neotropical hairstreaks (Eumaeini), wing patterns associated with the false head hypothesis evolved 20 times. If these wing patterns are indeed an effective adaptation for increasing survival, why have they not evolved in all species? Using accumulated biological and phylogenetic information, I determine those factors, such as larval food plant, habitat, and geographical locality, that are correlated with the evolution of (and loss of) “false head” wing patterns.