The evolutionary relationship between adult oviposition preferences and larval host plant range in Papilio machaon L (original) (raw)
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Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society, 2010
Oviposition preference and larval developmental performance of the butterfly, Papilio polytes L. on four rutaceous host plants, Citrus aurantifolia (Chrism.) Swing, Citrus reticulata Blanco, Citrus hystrix DC, and Murraya koenigii (L.) Sprengle, were investigated in outdoor cages. Maxima of eggs were laid on C. reticulata, followed by C. aurantifolia, but the numbers laid on the two host plants were not significantly different from each other; however, these numbers differed significantly (F = 155.70; P < 0.01) from those laid on C. hysrix and M. koenigii; the last host plant was the least preferred for egg laying. Leaves were significantly the preferred site (and in turn the underside of leaves) over stems for deposition of eggs in all host plants; negligible number of eggs was also laid on plant pots. The duration of 5th instar larval development was the shortest on C. reticulata and significantly different (P < 0.01) from that on M. koenigii, but did not differ significantly between the three Citrus species. The nitrogen content in leaves of all four host plants differed significantly (P < 0.01), with C. reticulata containing 4.52%, followed by C. aurantifolia (4.37%), C. hystrix (4.29%), and M. koenigii (3.73%), while the water content of leaves was significantly the lowest in M. koenigii (71.72%), compared to the three Citrus species (76.38-79.12%) among which the water content did not significantly differ. Relative consumption rate (RCR) and fecal dry weight of 5th instar larvae feeding on M. koenigii were the highest and significantly different (P < 0.01) from the other three host plants. Pupal dry weight, relative growth rate (RGR), efficiency conversion of digested food (ECD), efficiency conversion of ingested food (ECI) of M. koenigii were significantly lowest compared to the three Citrus species. The values of RGR, ECD, and ECI of the 5th instar larvae were similar for the three Citrus species; the approximate digestibility (AD) values were similar for all four host plants. This study shows that C. reticulata was the best host plant among the three Citrus spp. and M. koenigii was the least preferred.
Great Lakes Entomologist, 1991
The concept that host plant favorites would be used for more rapid and/or efficient growth of the "locally adapted" individuals was tested in a preliminary way using the giant swallowtail butterfly, Papilio cresphontes. Populations feeding only on northern prickly ash, Zanthoxylum americanum (from Wisconsin), primarily (or exclusively) on hoptree, Ptelea trijoliata (in Ohio) and on lime prickly ash, Z. jagara, or Citrus, (in Florida) were compared on alternate hosts and on their actual local hosts under controlled environmental conditions. While the results with final instar larvae generally support the feeding specialization hypothesis with regard to more rapid and/or more efficient growth on local food plant favorites, we are hesi tant to extrapolate these results to the species as a whole for several reasons dis cussed herein. The giant swallowtail butterfly, Papilio cresphontes Cramer (Lepidoptera: Papi lionidae) is a wide-ranging species, occurring from Minnesota a...
Insect Science, 2013
In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance allows for a potential mother-offspring conflict, resulting in the female maximizing her fecundity at the expense of larval performance on suboptimal hosts. In two experiments, we aimed to investigate this relationship in the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, by comparing the relative acceptance of low-and medium-ranked hosts between females and neonate larvae both within individuals between life stages, and between mothers and their offspring. The study shows a variation between females in oviposition acceptance of low-ranked hosts, and that the degree of acceptance in the mothers correlates with the probability of acceptance of the same host in the larvae. We also found a negative relationship between stages within individuals as there was a higher acceptance of lower ranked hosts in females who had abandoned said host as a larva. Notably, however, neonate larvae of the comma butterfly did not unconditionally accept to feed from the least favorable host species even when it was the only food source. Our results suggest the possibility that the disadvantages associated with a generalist oviposition strategy can be decreased by larval participation in host plant choice.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005
In the Lepidoptera, sex-linked genes have been found to be of importance for species differences in, for example, hostplant preference, and have been implicated in ecological speciation. Variation within species is typically not sexlinked. However, in the comma butterfly Polygonia c-album (Nymphalidae) an X-linked gene has been found to play a major role in determining differences in host-plant use between two well separated populations. For this reason, we studied the role of sex-linked genes for host-plant preference within a single Swedish population of this species. Three generations of females with known pedigrees were studied in the laboratory, and they were given a choice between Urtica dioica and Salix caprea in flight cages. We found strong variation among females and significant genetic variance for host-plant preference, but no evidence for major importance of sex linkage of host-plant preference on this local scale. To what extent the observed genetic variation was due to additive genes and/or effects of major genes was not clear from the maximum likelihood analysis. In a follow-up study we sampled females over a larger area. We found strong variation among females, but not among localities, suggesting an open population structure with strong gene flow. From the combined stock, a selection experiment was performed over 2 years and six generations. The selection lines diverged after the first generation of selection and remained separate, but did not diverge further, suggesting a low degree of narrow-sense heritability and that the genetic differences may be effects of major genes. We discuss these results in relation to the possible role of genetics in the radiation of the Lepidoptera and other phytophagous insects.
Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 2010
Adult oviposition preferences are expected to correlate with host plant suitability for the development of their offspring. For most lepidopteran species, this is particularly important as the hatching neonate larvae of many species are relatively immobile. Thus, the site of oviposition chosen by a female adult can greatly influence the probability of survival for her offspring. In the present study, we investigated the oviposition preference of adult Trichoplusia ni moths for six plant species to determine whether they could accurately rank the suitability of the plants for larval development. We also compared oviposition preferences to neonate larval acceptance and preference to determine whether the adult host range matched that of larval diet breath. Our results indicate that in two-choice and no-choice tests adult T. ni were able to rank the plants accurately, with the exception of anise hyssop. However, when given a choice of all six plants together, they laid more eggs on a plant that was not suitable for larval survival. Larvae accepted and fed on all plants in no-choice tests, and accurately ranked them according to larval performance. We conclude that neonate larvae are better able than adults to rank plants according to larval performance, and that larval diet breadth is wider than the range of plants accepted by adults. We also provide a discussion of the reduced accuracy of adult oviposition preference with increased plant choices.
Enemy-free space and habitat-specific host specialization in a butterfly
Oecologia, 2008
The majority of herbivorous insects have relatively specialized food habits. This suggests that specialization has some advantage(s) over generalization. Traditionally, feeding specialization has been thought to be linked to digestive or other food-related physiological advantages, but recent theory suggests that generalist natural enemies of herbivorous insects can also provide a major selective pressure for restricted host plant range. The European swallowtail butterfly Papilio machaon utilizes various plants in the Apiaceae family as hosts, but is an ecological specialist being monophagous on Angelica archangelica in southern Sweden. This perennial monocarp grows in three seaside habitat types: (1) on the barren rocky shore in the absence of any surrounding vegetation, (2) on the rocky shore with some surrounding vegetation, and (3) on species-rich meadows. The rocky shore habitat harbors few invertebrate generalist predators, whereas a number of invertebrate predators abound in the meadowland habitat. Here, we test the importance of enemy-free space for feeding specialization in Papilio machaon by assessing survival of larvae placed by hand on A. archangelica in each of the three habitat types, and by assessing the habitat-specificity of adult female egg-laying behavior by recording the distribution of eggs laid by free-flying adult females among the three habitat types. Larval survival was substantially higher in the rocky shore habitat than in the meadowland and significantly higher on host plants without surrounding vegetation on the rocky shore. Eggs laid by free-flying females were found in all three habitat types, but were significantly more frequent in the rocky shore habitat, suggesting that females prefer to lay eggs in the habitat type where offspring survival is highest. These results show that larval survivorship on the same host plant species can be strongly habitat-specific, and suggest that enemy-free space is an underlying factor that drives feeding specialization in Papilio machaon.
Butterfly oviposition preference is not related to larval performance on a polyploid herb
Ecology and Evolution
The preference-performance hypothesis predicts that female insects maximize their fitness by utilizing host plants which are associated with high larval performance. Still, studies with several insect species have failed to find a positive correlation between oviposition preference and larval performance. In the present study, we experimentally investigated the relationship between oviposition preferences and larval performance in the butterfly Anthocharis cardamines. Preferences were assessed using both cage experiments and field data on the proportion of host plant individuals utilized in natural populations. Larval performance was experimentally investigated using larvae descending from 419 oviposition events by 21 females on plants from 51 populations of two ploidy types of the perennial herb Cardamine pratensis. Neither ploidy type nor population identity influenced egg survival or larval development, but increased plant inflorescence size resulted in a larger final larval size. There was no correlation between female oviposition preference and egg survival or larval development under controlled conditions. Moreover, variation in larval performance among populations under controlled conditions was not correlated with the proportion of host plants utilized in the field. Lastly, first instar larvae added to plants rejected for oviposition by butterfly females during the preference experiment performed equally well as larvae growing on plants chosen for oviposition. The lack of a correlation between larval performance and oviposition preference for A. cardamines under both experimental and natural settings suggests that female host choice does not maximize the fitness of the individual offspring.