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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Sabotaging behaviour and minimal latex of Asclepias curassavica incur no cost for larvae of the southern monarch butterfly Danaus erippus

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Author(s):
Rodrigues, Daniela [1] ; Maia, Pedro H. S. [1] ; Trigo, Joser R. [1]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Biol Anim, Inst Biol, Campinas, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 1
Document type: Journal article
Source: ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY; v. 35, n. 4, p. 504-513, AUG 2010.
Web of Science Citations: 7
Abstract

1. The southern monarch, Danaus erippus, uses mainly Asclepias curassavica as its host in the Neotropics, a plant species bearing articulated anastomosing laticifers. When artificially severed, A. curassavica has been shown to release significantly less latex than other Asclepias species. 2. The present study tested the hypothesis that sabotaging behaviour changes during the ontogeny of D. erippus and recorded latex outflow of A. curassavica during sabotaging and feeding. Larvae displayed vein-cutting behaviour, which was initially observed in the second instar, became more pronounced in the third and fourth instars, and less frequent in the fifth instar. When present, latex outflow was never more than 1 mu l at a time during either vein cutting or feeding, regardless of the instar. 3. Mandibular and midrib morphometrics revealed that larvae selected thicker midrib sites for severing as instars progressed; however, no correlation between mandibular size and midrib size severed was found within instars. 4. Costs of sabotaging behaviour and the effects of A. curassavica latex outflow on D. erippus larvae were also examined. Sabotaging behaviour did not incur growth costs for larvae, and only latex exudation volumes at least 10-fold greater than those observed due to D. erippus sabotaging or feeding, caused significantly higher larval mortality than controls. 5. Since latex outflow is minimal or non-existent in A. curassavica, sabotaging behaviour in D. erippus is mostly limited by morphological constraints and is probably driven by chemical stimulants rather than latex defence. In turn, latex does not constitute a major defence of A. curassavica against D. erippus. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 07/07802-4 - Advances in the study of polyphagy in neotropical Lepidoptera
Grantee:Daniela Rodrigues
Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate