Behavioral strategy of a lycaenid (Lepidoptera) caterpillar against aggressive ants in a Brazilian savanna
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Behavioral strategy of a lycaenid (Lepidoptera) caterpillar against aggressive ants in a Brazilian savanna A. Bächtold & E. Alves-Silva
Received: 16 June 2012 / Revised: 20 November 2012 / Accepted: 20 November 2012 / Published online: 7 December 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and ISPA 2012
Abstract Myrmecophily is widespread in lycaenid butterflies, in which ants receive food resources and, in turn, protect caterpillars against natural enemies. This interaction ranges from obligate myrmecophily, in which immatures are invariably associated with ants and are dependent on ants for survival, and facultative myrmecophily, in which larvae are not dependent on ants for survival, but the presence of the latter may increase larvae survival. Lycaenids also include non-myrmecophilous butterflies, which do not have positive associations with ants and have developed strategies to avoid being attacked or preyed upon by them. In this study, we examined the relationship between the lycaenid Michaelus ira and two ant species associated with Distictella elongata (Bignoniaceae). This plant has extrafloral nectaries and is patrolled by Camponotus crassus and Ectatomma tuberculatum. Morphological analyses revealed that M. ira larvae have ant organs, such as dorsal nectary organs and perforated cupolas, structures associated with myrmecophily. We performed larval exposure experiments in the field, predicting that, in the absence of myrmecophily, the butterfly larva would present strategies to avoid ant attack. Results showed that larvae were attacked by both ant species. To escape ant molestation, larvae lived and fed inside silk-sealed D. elongata flower buds. We concluded that the M. ira bud-sheltering behavior was a defensive
A. Bächtold (*) Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Bandeirantes no. 3900, Cep 14040901, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil e-mail: [email protected] E. Alves-Silva Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Rua Ceará, s/no. Bloco 2D-Campus Umuarama, Cep 38400902, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil e-mail: [email protected]
strategy against these ant species, while the dorsal nectary organs were apparently nonfunctional. Nonetheless, myrmecophily, in general, cannot be excluded in M. ira since relationships with other ant species may exist. Keywords Michaelus ira . Myrmecophily . Camponotus crassus . Ectatomma tuberculatum . Bud sheltering . Distictella elongata
Introduction Insect herbivores present a myriad of strategies to escape from predators, ranging from behavioral (gregariousness, flying, or hiding from predators) and physical (mimicry, camouflage, and presence of spines on the body) to chemical defenses (releasing toxic exudates; Price et al. 1980; Heads and Lawton 1985; Sillen-Tullberg and Leimar 1988; Mappes et al. 2005; Tschuch et al. 2005). Nevertheless, one of the most remarkable defensive strategies among herbivorous insects includes a mutualistic association with ants (myrmecophily; Monserrat and Martinez 1995; Stadler and Dixon 1999;
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