Natural history of some Siberian melitaeine butterfly species (Nymphalidae: Melitaeini) and their parasitoids

We report observations on the larval gregarious behaviour, host plant use and parasitoids of six species of melitaeine butterfly in the Russian Republic of Buryatia. We observed post-diapause larvae in two habitats, steppe and taiga forest region. Five species were found in the steppe region: Euphydryas aurinia davidi, Melitaea cinxia, M. latonigena, M. didymoides and M. phoebe. Three species (M. cinxia, M. latonigena and M. didymoides) fed on the same host plant, Veronica incana (Plantaginaceae). Euphydryas aurinia larvae were found on Scabiosa comosa (Dipsacaceae) and M. phoebe larvae on Stemmacantha uniflora (Asteraceae). Three species were found in the taiga region (M. cinxia, M. latonigena and M. centralasiae), of which the first two fed on Veronica incana. Five species of hymenopteran parasitoids and three species of dipteran parasitoids were reared from the butterfly larvae of five species.

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Host plant use among closely related Anaea butterfly species (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Charaxinae)

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842002000400014 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 62 (4a) ◽

pp. 657-663 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. M. QUEIROZ

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Butterfly Species ◽

Phenological Stages ◽

Semideciduous Forest ◽

Plant Use ◽

Plant Families ◽

Host Plant Use ◽

The Tropics ◽

Eggs And Larvae

There is a great number of Charaxinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) species in the tropics whose larvae feed on several plant families. However the genus Anaea is almost always associated with Croton species (Euphorbiaceae). This work describes patterns of host plant use by immature and adult abundance on different vertical strata of sympatric Anaea species in a forest of Southeastern Brazil. Quantitative samples of leaves were taken in April/1999 and May/2000 to collect eggs and larvae of four Anaea species on C.alchorneicarpus, C. floribundus and C. salutaris in a semideciduous forest. Sampled leaves were divided into three classes of plant phenological stage: saplings, shrubs and trees. The results showed that the butterfly species are segregating in host plant use on two scales: host plant species and plant phenological stages. C. alchorneicarpus was used by only one Anaea species, whereas C. floribundus was used by three species and C. salutaris by four Anaea species. There was one Anaea species concentrated on sapling, another on sapling/shrub and two others on shrub/tree leaves. Adults of Anaea were more frequent at canopy traps but there were no differences among species caught in traps at different vertical positions. This work supplements early studies on host plant use among Charaxinae species and it describes how a guild of closely related butterfly species may be organized in a complex tropical habitat.

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Host plant use by the Heath fritillary butterfly, Melitaea athalia: plant habitat, species and chemistry

Arthropod-Plant Interactions ◽

10.1007/s11829-008-9039-2 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 63-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Joanneke H. Reudler Talsma ◽

Kaisa Torri ◽

Saskya van Nouhuys

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Plant Use ◽

Plant Habitat ◽

Host Plant Use

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Mice as stowaways? Colonization history of Danish striped field mice

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2017.0064 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 20170064 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Liselotte Wesley Andersen ◽

Magnus Jacobsen ◽

Christina Vedel-Smith ◽

Thomas Secher Jensen

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Divergence Time ◽

Mitochondrial Genomes ◽

Field Mouse ◽

Colonization History ◽

Striped Field Mouse ◽

Steppe Region ◽

History Of ◽

Field Mice ◽

Human Introduction

Species from the steppe region of Eastern Europe likely colonized northwestern Europe in connection with agriculture after 6500 BP. The striped field mouse ( Apodemus agrarius Pallas, 1783), is a steppe-derived species often found in human crops. It is common on the southern Danish islands of Lolland and Falster, which have been isolated from mainland Europe since approximately 10 300–8000 BP. Thus, this species could have been brought in with humans in connection with agriculture, or it could be an earlier natural invader. We sequenced 86 full mitochondrial genomes from the northwestern range of the striped field mouse, analysed phylogenetic relationships and estimated divergence time. The results supported human-induced colonization of Denmark in the Subatlantic or Subboreal period. A newly discovered population from Central Jutland in Denmark diverged from Falster approximately 100–670 years ago, again favouring human introduction. One individual from Sweden turned out to be a recent introduction from Central Jutland.

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