scholarly journals Atypical functioning of female genitalia explains monandry in a butterfly

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12499
Author(s):  
David Xochipiltecatl ◽  
Joaquín Baixeras ◽  
Carlos R. Cordero
Keyword(s):  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Sexual Receptivity ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Partial Control ◽  
Proximate Mechanisms ◽  
Constant Degree

Monandrous species are rare in nature, especially in animals where males transfer nutrients to females in the ejaculate. The proximate mechanisms responsible for monandry are poorly studied. In butterflies and moths, the male transfers a nutritious spermatophore into the corpus bursae (CB) of the female. The CB is a multifunctional organ that digests the spermatophore and has partial control of the post-mating sexual receptivity of the female. The spermatophore distends the CB and the post-mating sexual receptivity of the female is inversely proportional to the degree of distension. The CB of many butterfly species has a muscular sheath whose contractions mechanically contribute to digest the spermatophore. As the contents of the CB are absorbed, the degree of distension decreases and the female recovers receptivity. We studied the monandrous butterfly Leptophobia aripa (Boisduval, 1836) (Pieridae) and found that females do not digest the spermatophores. We investigated the structure of the CB and found that a muscular sheath is absent, indicating that in this butterfly females lack the necessary “apparatus” for the mechanical digestion of the spermatophore. We propose that female monandry in this species is result of its incapability to mechanically digest the spermatophore, which results in a constant degree of CB distension after mating and, thus, in the maintenance of the sexually unreceptive state of females. Hypotheses on the evolution of this mechanism are discussed.

scholarly journals A review of the occurrence and diversity of the sphragis in butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

ZooKeys ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 694 ◽  
pp. 41-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula S. Carvalho ◽  
Albert G. Orr ◽  
Akito Y. Kawahara
Keyword(s):  
Future Study ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Related Structure ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Formal Definition ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Somatic Maintenance ◽  
Material Cost ◽  
Distinctive Structure

Males of many butterfly species secrete long-lasting mating plugs to prevent their mates from copulating with other males, thus ensuring their sperm will fertilize all future eggs laid. Certain species have further developed a greatly enlarged, often spectacular, externalized plug, termed a sphragis. This distinctive structure results from complex adaptations in both male and female genitalia and is qualitatively distinct from the amorphous, internal mating plugs of other species. Intermediate conditions between internal plug and external sphragis are rare. The term sphragis has often been misunderstood in recent years, hence we provide a formal definition based on accepted usage throughout most of the last century. Despite it being a highly apparent trait, neither the incidence nor diversity of the sphragis has been systematically documented. We record a sphragis or related structure in 273 butterfly species, representing 72 species of Papilionidae in 13 genera, and 201 species of Nymphalidae in 9 genera. These figures represent respectively, 13% of Papilionidae, 3% of Nymphalidae, and 1% of known butterfly species. A well-formed sphragis evolved independently in at least five butterfly subfamilies, with a rudimentary structure also occurring in an additional subfamily. The sphragis is probably the plesiomorphic condition in groups such as Parnassius (Papilionidae: Parnassiinae) and many Acraeini (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae). Some butterflies, such as those belonging to the Parnassius simo group, have apparently lost the structure secondarily. The material cost of producing the sphragis is considerable. It is typically offset by production of a smaller spermatophore, thus reducing the amount of male-derived nutrients donated to the female during mating for use in oogenesis and/or somatic maintenance. The sphragis potentially represents one of the clearest examples of mate conflict known. Investigating its biology should yield testable hypotheses to further our understanding of the selective processes at play in an ‘arms race’ between the sexes. This paper provides an overview, which will inform future study.

A new “elfin” butterfly species of Cissatsuma Johnson, 1992 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) from northwestern Sichuan, China

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4524 (4) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
ANATOLY V. KRUPITSKY
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Sichuan Province ◽  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
White Band ◽  
A New Species

A new species of elfin blue, Cissatsuma berezowskii Krupitsky sp.n., is described from the northwestern Sichuan Province, China, based on two old museum specimens, a male and a female. The new species differs from the most closely related one, C. albilinea (Riley, 1932), in lack of white band of ventral wing surfaces, broadened blue area of dorsal wing surfaces in female, and morphology of the male and female genitalia. The distribution map of the new species and C. albilinea is provided. 

DNA barcodes, morphology and geographic distribution confirm a new butterfly species in the genus Rhamma (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4821 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-188
Author(s):  
CARLOS PRIETO ◽  
CARLOS FEDERICO ÁLVAREZ HINCAPIE ◽  
ALEJANDRA CLAVIJO GIRALDO ◽  
SANDRA URIBE
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Geographical Variation ◽  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Butterfly Species ◽  
Wing Pattern ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Colombian Andes ◽  
Coi Sequences ◽  
Central Cordillera

We diagnose a new butterfly species from the Belmira paramo in the central cordillera of the Colombian Andes. We infer from the barcoding analysis, wing pattern, morphology and distribution that this entity is not a geographical variation or subspecies of any named lycaenid, and it is described herein as Rhamma eleonorae sp. nov. Adult specimens and female genitalia are illustrated and compared with R. arria (Hewitson, 1870) and R. oxida (Hewitson, 1870), the most closely related taxa based on similarities of wing pattern and COI sequences.

A review of the little known genus Wockia (Lepidoptera: Urodidae) in Russia

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-179
Author(s):  
S.Yu. Sinev
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Zoological Institute ◽  
Female Genitalia ◽  
Palaearctic Species ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
First Time ◽  
Subjective Synonym

Three species of the genus Wockia Heinemann, 1870, which are so far known in Russia are reviewed; their male and female genitalia are illustrated, and a key for identification is provided. Two species, W. koreana Sohn, 2008, and W. magna Sohn, 2014, which were recently described from East Asia, are for the first time reported from Russia. The investigation of the holotype of W. funebrella Heinemann, 1870, discovered in the collection of the Zoological Institute RAS (St Petersburg), confirmed that this species is a junior subjective synonym of W. asperipunctella (Bruand, 1851). The distribution of Palaearctic species of the genus is discussed shortly.

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