Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon

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Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon. / Fürst, Matthias A; Nash, David Richard.

In: Biology Letters, Vol. 6, No. 2, 23.04.2010, p. 174-6.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Fürst, MA & Nash, DR 2010, 'Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon', Biology Letters, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 174-6. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730

APA

Fürst, M. A., & Nash, D. R. (2010). Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon. Biology Letters, 6(2), 174-6. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730

Vancouver

Fürst MA, Nash DR. Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon. Biology Letters. 2010 Apr 23;6(2):174-6. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730

Author

Fürst, Matthias A ; Nash, David Richard. / Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon. In: Biology Letters. 2010 ; Vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 174-6.

Bibtex

@article{16963971606c4b968c8c7e176de76280,
title = "Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon",
abstract = "Parasitic Maculinea alcon butterflies can only develop in nests of a subset of available Myrmica ant species, so female butterflies have been hypothesized to preferentially lay eggs on plants close to colonies of the correct host ants. Previous correlational investigations of host-ant-dependent oviposition in this and other Maculinea species have, however, shown equivocal results, leading to a long-term controversy over support for this hypothesis. We therefore conducted a controlled field experiment to study the egg-laying behaviour of M. alcon. Matched potted Gentiana plants were set out close to host-ant nests and non-host-ant nests, and the number and position of eggs attached were assessed. Our results show no evidence for host-ant-based oviposition in M. alcon, but support an oviposition strategy based on plant characteristics. This suggests that careful management of host-ant distribution is necessary for conservation of this endangered butterfly.",
keywords = "Animals, Ants, Butterflies, Denmark, Female, Gentiana, Linear Models, Oviposition, Symbiosis",
author = "F{\"u}rst, {Matthias A} and Nash, {David Richard}",
year = "2010",
month = apr,
day = "23",
doi = "10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730",
language = "English",
volume = "6",
pages = "174--6",
journal = "Biology Letters",
issn = "1744-9561",
publisher = "The/Royal Society",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Host ant independent oviposition in the parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon

AU - Fürst, Matthias A

AU - Nash, David Richard

PY - 2010/4/23

Y1 - 2010/4/23

N2 - Parasitic Maculinea alcon butterflies can only develop in nests of a subset of available Myrmica ant species, so female butterflies have been hypothesized to preferentially lay eggs on plants close to colonies of the correct host ants. Previous correlational investigations of host-ant-dependent oviposition in this and other Maculinea species have, however, shown equivocal results, leading to a long-term controversy over support for this hypothesis. We therefore conducted a controlled field experiment to study the egg-laying behaviour of M. alcon. Matched potted Gentiana plants were set out close to host-ant nests and non-host-ant nests, and the number and position of eggs attached were assessed. Our results show no evidence for host-ant-based oviposition in M. alcon, but support an oviposition strategy based on plant characteristics. This suggests that careful management of host-ant distribution is necessary for conservation of this endangered butterfly.

AB - Parasitic Maculinea alcon butterflies can only develop in nests of a subset of available Myrmica ant species, so female butterflies have been hypothesized to preferentially lay eggs on plants close to colonies of the correct host ants. Previous correlational investigations of host-ant-dependent oviposition in this and other Maculinea species have, however, shown equivocal results, leading to a long-term controversy over support for this hypothesis. We therefore conducted a controlled field experiment to study the egg-laying behaviour of M. alcon. Matched potted Gentiana plants were set out close to host-ant nests and non-host-ant nests, and the number and position of eggs attached were assessed. Our results show no evidence for host-ant-based oviposition in M. alcon, but support an oviposition strategy based on plant characteristics. This suggests that careful management of host-ant distribution is necessary for conservation of this endangered butterfly.

KW - Animals

KW - Ants

KW - Butterflies

KW - Denmark

KW - Female

KW - Gentiana

KW - Linear Models

KW - Oviposition

KW - Symbiosis

U2 - 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730

DO - 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0730

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 19864269

VL - 6

SP - 174

EP - 176

JO - Biology Letters

JF - Biology Letters

SN - 1744-9561

IS - 2

ER -

ID: 33837738