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Monarch butterflies have a close relationship with plants of the Apocynaceae family, especially with the genus Asclepias Linnaeus, 1753, using their toxic cardenolides as a defense against predators. Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, 1811, native from Africa and Asia and introduced in Brazil as an ornamental plant, is a food alternative for monarchs but contains fewer cardenolides than Asclepias, which may make the butterflies more vulnerable to parasitoids. The interaction between wasps of the genus Brachymeria Westwood, 1829 and butterflies of the genus Danaus Kluk, 1802 is seldom reported. This study reports the first case of parasitism by Brachymeria pandora (Crawford, 1914) in pupae of Danaus erippus (Cramer, 1775) in Brazil, collected in the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso. Five butterfly pupae were collected on C. procera; three were parasitized, with 34 emergences of parasitoids. We suggest that the relationship between D. erippus and B. pandora may be facilitated by the lower toxicity of C. procera compared to Asclepias, possibly increasing susceptibility to parasitoidism. The high rate of parasitoidism observed suggests that this possible new interaction could be detrimental to the conservation of D. erippus. Further studies are needed to confirm whether this parasitoid-host interaction also occurs with native Asclepias plants and to investigate the impacts of exotic plants on these types of interactions and on butterfly conservation.

A huge number of danaine butterflies undertake seasonal migration between the eastern plains and the Western Ghats in Southern India. It is a spectacular, yet poorly studied ecological phenomenon and our knowledge about the patterns, drivers, and threats is fragmented and largely anecdotal. This study investigated three aspects of the phenomenon: the pattern of danaine butterfly migration and their breeding in Southern India; species composition, numbers, and sex ratio of butterflies in congregation sites; and the plants from which they gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Of the six migrating species reported during the study, Tirumala septentrionis, and Euploea sylvester outnumbered all other species. The butterflies were found aggregating on seven plant species for the uptake of secondary chemicals, with Crotalaria being the most important genus used in the Western Ghats. The wet forests of the Western Ghats act as vital habitats for the migrating adult danaines and ensure nectar resources and secondary chemicals which are essential for building up fuel stores for their migration, survival in aggregations, and breeding. This work will contribute to effectively conserve butterfly habitats inside and outside Protected Areas, especially the highly vulnerable summer congregation sites in the Western Ghats, and help preserve their ecological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of COMU Journal of Agriculture Faculty / ÇOMÜ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Species of the butterfly subfamily Danainae visit orchids, resulting in pollinaria being attached to their heads. In several habitats in east Sulawesi a remarkable percentage of Danainae specimens was observed with orchid pollinaria preferentially attached to their eyes. Among the 13 observed native Danainae species, seven carried pollinaria. Pollinaria attachment appears to be selective for Danainae as hundreds of specimens from other butterfly families were negative. Selectivity also concerns the orchid species, as attached pollinaria could be assigned to a Habenaria orchid and in one case only to an Anoectochilus. Efficient pollinaria attachment requires compatible morphological characters of butterfly and orchid. In this respect, the observed high pollinaria load of single butterflies is also important. Comparable investigations in southeast Sulawesi did not reveal danaid–orchid interactions. Further studies are required to prove orchid pollination by Danainae and to clarify the mechanism by which these butterflies are attracted to the orchids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butterflies of the genus Danaus are known to sequester toxic cardenolides from milkweed host plants (Apocynaceae). In particular, Danaus plexippus efficiently sequesters and stores these compounds, whereas D. chrysippus , is considered to poorly sequester cardenolides. To estimate its sequestration capability compared with that of D. plexippus , larvae of both species were jointly reared on Asclepias curassavica and the major cardenolides of the host plant, calotropin and calactin, were analyzed in adults sampled at different time intervals after eclosion. Both cardenolides were detected in body and wings of D. plexippus . Whereas the calotropin-concentration remained constant over a period of 24 days, that of calactin steadily decreased. In the body, but not in the wings of D. chrysippus , calactin only was detected in low amounts, which was then almost completely lost during the following 8 days after eclosion, suggesting that in contrast to D. plexippus , cardenolides seem to be less important for that butterfly's defence against predators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout their global range, wild monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) are infected with the protozoan Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE). In monarchs, OE infection reduces pupal eclosion, adult lifespan, adult body size and flight ability. Infection of other butterfly hosts with OE is rare or unknown, and the only previously published records of OE infection were on monarch and queen butterflies ( D. gilippus ). Here we explored the occurrence and specificity of OE and OE-like parasites in four Danaus butterfly species. We surveyed wild D. eresimus (soldier), D. gilippus (queen), D. petilia (lesser wanderer), and D. plexippus (monarch) from five countries to determine the presence of infection. We conducted five cross-infection experiments, on monarchs and queen butterflies and their OE and OE-like parasites, to determine infection probability and the impact of infection on their hosts. Our field survey showed that OE-like parasites were present in D. gilippus , D. petilia , and D. plexippus , but were absent in D. eresimus . Infection probability varied geographically such that D. gilippus and D. plexippus populations in Puerto Rico and Trinidad were not infected or had low prevalence of infection, whereas D. plexippus from S. Florida and Australia had high prevalence. Cross-infection experiments showed evidence for host specificity, in that OE strains from monarchs were more effective at infecting monarchs than queens, and monarchs were less likely to be infected by OE-like strains from queens and lesser wanderers relative to their own natal strains. Our study showed that queens are less susceptible to OE and OE-like infection than monarchs, and that the reduction in adult lifespan following infection is more severe in monarchs than in queens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research concerning the immunobiology of insects particularly on the Danaus genutia (lepidoptera: nymphalidae). An overview on the high alkaloid content that milkweed butterfly possessed as well as their abundance and attractive coloration, is provided. Also mentioned is the hemocyte efficiency of Danaus genutia larvae against the common gram negative bacteria E. coli.

Two species of genus Danaus Kluk (1802), Danaus chiysippus Linnaeus (1758) and Demons genutia Cramer (1779), commonly called monarchs, queens and milkweed butterflies are re-described. This re-description is based on coloration of wings, structure of mouthparts, maxillary palpi and internal male and female genitalia. The occurrence of these species of butterflies is new record from Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the first migration record and longest recorded movement by the Chestnut Tiger Butterfly, parantica sita niphonica, from Japan to Hong Kong, China. It mentions that migration of Chestnut Tiger has been studied in Japan for more than 30 years using the capture-mark-recapture method. It also mentions that the records establish the presence of seasonal and bi-directional migration of Chestnut Tigers between Taiwan and Japan.

1. Self-medication is an ability to consume or otherwise contact biologically active organic compounds specifically for the purpose of helping to clear a (parasitic) infection or reduce its symptoms. Consumption of these compounds may either take place before the infection is contracted (prophylactic consumption) or after the infection is contracted (therapeutic consumption). 2. An important insight is that self-medication is a form of adaptive plasticity, and as such, consumption of the medicinal substance when uninfected must impose a fitness cost (otherwise the substance would be universally consumed). This distinguishes self-medication from several closely related phenomena such as microbiome effects or compensatory diet choice. 3. A number of recent studies have convincingly demonstrated self-medication within several different, distantly-related, insect taxa. Here I review evidence of self-medication in the wooly bear caterpillar Grammia incorrupta Edwards, the armyworm Spodoptera Guenée, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus Kluk, and the honey bee Apis mellifera Linnaeus. 4. These studies show not only that self-medication is possible, but that the target of the medication behaviour may in some cases be kin rather than self. They also reveal very few general patterns. I therefore end by discussing future prospects within the field of insect self-medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butterflies are important components of community trophic structure because they serve as food for mammals, lizards, birds, other insects, and spiders (Schreiner, 1997). Furthermore, certain species of butterfly are also valued pollinators and herbivores; therefore, butterflies are important in maintaining ecosystem biodiversity (Hammer, 2014). Individual butterflies are vulnerable as larvae because they are small and slow. They are also immobile as pupae or cocoons. A shortened larval and/or pupal period should decrease the chances of being ingested or attacked by predators and increase the probability of surviving to adulthood. Therefore, efforts to identify food types effective at increasing the development rates of threatened butterfly species may be useful. The purpose of this study was to determine whether different food types affect the rate of development of Hypolimnas misippus, also known as the Danaid eggfly. Two experimental groups with twenty larvae each were used in the study. One half was fed Portulaca oleracea and the second half was fed Portulaca quadrifida, both of which are common food plants for H. misippus. To determine if growth rate depended on food type, the number of days from egg to pupa, the pupal weight, and the number of days from pupa to adult were recorded. Short period of days between stages and a high pupal weight would indicate a fast growth rate. The findings revealed a difference in the larval period between the two groups (p=1.0 × 10-5) with the P. oleracea group having a shorter larval period in comparison to the P. quadrifida group. However, there was no difference in the pupal weight and pupal period between the two groups (p=0.684 and p=0.199 respectively). These results suggest P. oleracea may increase the development rate, specifically the larval period of H. misippus. This would allow this species of butterfly to reach adulthood faster and increase their population size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus) being famous for its adaptations to the defensive traits of its milkweed host plants, little is known about the macroevolution of these traits. Unlike most other animal species, monarchs are largely insensitive to cardenolides, because their target site, the sodium pump (Na+/K+-ATPase), has evolved amino acid substitutions that reduce cardenolide binding (so-called target site insensitivity, TSI). Because many, but not all, species of milkweed butterflies (Danaini) are associated with cardenolide-containing host plants, we analyzed 16 species, representing all phylogenetic lineages of milkweed butterflies, for the occurrence of TSI by sequence analyses of the Na+/K+-ATPase gene and by enzymatic assays with extracted Na+/K+-ATPase. Here we report that sensitivity to cardenolides was reduced in a stepwise manner during the macroevolution of milkweed butterflies. Strikingly, not all Danaini typically consuming cardenolides showed TSI, but rather TSI was more strongly associated with sequestration of toxic cardenolides. Thus, the interplay between bottom-up selection by plant compounds and top-down selection by natural enemies can explain the evolutionary sequence of adaptations to these toxins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study exhibits that the Danaid butterfly Tirumala limniace would be on wings and breed seasonally with July to March and September - November is the most favorable period. The monophagous larvae utilize only Wattakaka volubilis on which the larvae were reared and studied. At about 28° C at 30° C, the life history was completed in 21-28 days, with eggs laying 3-4, larva1 1-16 and pupae 7-8 days. The short life history permitted 9-10 broods yearly making the butterfly multivoltine. The values of consumption index (CI), growth rate (GR), approximate digestibility (AD) across the instars decreased as the larvae aged. The average values of the CI and GR are 3.90, 0.56 respectively, and that of AD is 90.2. In contrast the values of both efficiency of conversion of digestive food (ECD) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) increased up to penultimate instar as the larvae aged and a slight decrease in the final instars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cladistic relationships among genera and subtribes of Danaini (the milkweed butterflies) were inferred by analysis of data combined from five sources: morphology of adults and immature stages, and DNA sequences from three gene regions. The results corroborate and greatly increase support for prior hypotheses based on morphology alone. A new index summarizing incongruence among data partitions, the Partition Congruence Proportion (PCP), is introduced. The significance of the inferred pattern of phylogenetic relationships for comparative chemical ecology of milkweed butterflies is briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterologia is the property of Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Several recent phylogenetic studies of Rubiaceae have dealt with enigmatic taxa whose systematic positions have been previously unknown or controversial. We address evolutionary relationships in the Spermacoceae alliance (Rubioideae) with special emphasis on the Asian genera Mouretia and Neohymenopogon, here sequenced for the first time. Both genera belong in the tribe Argostemmateae and have persistent calyx lobes on the fruit in common with Argostemma and Mycetia. Other previous uncertainties are resolved with strong support; Saprosma is sister to Paederieae s.str. and Carpacoce is sister to remaining Anthospermeae. Our results further reveal some phylogenetic problems. Danaideae is sister to remaining taxa in the Spermacoceae alliance with high posterior probability, which contradicts results in a recent study. The uncertainty concerning evolutionary relationships of Dunnia and Theligonum is reinforced, despite a denser taxon sampling in the Spermacoceae alliance compared with earlier studies. We also demonstrate yet another example of the controversial correlation between molecular substitution rate and plant life history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the preliminary results of the Southwest Monarch Study in Arizona. The study, aimed to tag wildmonarch butterflies and monitor its movements, has tagged over 2000 monarchs since 2003. The results presented needed more research regarding the migratory behavior of these butterflies and how monarchs utilized southwestern milkweed species for reproduction.

The danaid butterfly Ideopsis similis, which occurs in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, is a sedentary and monophagous species, whose larval food plant, Tylophora tanakae (Asclepiadaceae), is shared with the migratory and polyphagous danaid Parantica sita. The tachinid Sturmia bella is known to be a principal parasitoid of larval P. sita, whereas there have been no records of parasitization of I. similis by this tachinid. We conducted laboratory experiments and field surveys at seven sites in the Ryukyu Islands to determine how I. similis evades parasitization by this tachinid. We found eggs of S. bella at four sites and eggs and/or larvae of I. similis on the leaves of T. tanakae at all seven sites in the field survey. Out of 40 I. similis allowed to ingest S. bella eggs, 28 (70%) emerged as normal host adults and nine (22.5%) emerged as host adults with crippled wings. Only three (7.5%) died of parasitization in the pupal stage, whereas 27 (87%) of 31 P. sita given S. bella eggs yielded parasitoid flies and eventually died. Melanized dead larvae of S. bella were found in the abdomens of the I. similes adults that had been parasitized but did not yield parasitoid flies. When I. similis females parasitized by S. bella were released in a greenhouse with males, one of them laid fertile eggs. Out of 125 field-collected I. similis adults, nine had melanized dipteran larvae within their abdomens, which were considered to be S. bella. These results demonstrate that I. similis has the ability to overcome parasitization by S. bella and develop into a fertile adult. It is possible that I. similis remains sedentary and monophagous because it has a strong defense mechanism against S. bella, whereas P. sita escapes from parasitization using its migratory and polyphagous capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the toxicity of permethrin residues from barrier treatments for mosquito control on monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) larvae and adults. The motivation for this study was an absence of work on the effects of this commonly used insecticide on nontarget herbivorous insects and the fact that monarchs' host plant, milkweed (Asciepias spp.), is often found in treated areas. In one experiment, larvae fed leaves from naturally growing milkweeds in operationally treated areas were much less likely to survive than control larvae, even when treated leaves were collected up to 21 d after spraying. In a second experiment, larvae fed leaves from potted milkweeds sprayed with 0.5 and 0.1% dilutions of the operational dose had lower survival and longer development times than control larvae. In a third experiment, ovipositing females did not discriminate against permethrin-treated plants. Female survival in 0.66-m³ cages with plants sprayed 1 d earlier was very low, whereas survival was greater if plants were assayed 8 or 15 d later. In a fourth experiment, neither frequent overhead watering (versus watering from below) nor outdoor sunlight (versus in a glasshouse) over a 14-d period lessened the toxicity of sprayed plants to larvae. These findings indicate that monarch larvae and adults are likely to be killed if exposed to residues of permethrin after barrier treatments for mosquito control. Extent of mortality in a field population of monarch butterflies will depend, among other things, on the proportion of host plants that are treated in a given area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two compounds, 9,10-epoxytetrahydroedulan (ET) and viridiflorine β-lactone (VL), were identified as major components from the hairpencils of field-caught males of a danaid butterfly, Euploea mulciber. By contrast, laboratory-reared males entirely lacked VL, but possessed a significant quantity of ET. Various feeding experiments with larvae and indoor adult males strongly suggested that ET is biosynthesized de novo only after eclosion from nutrients ingested during the larval development. Since VL was suspected to be derived from pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) acquired as an adult, tests for feeding response to and oral administration of four PAs (a 4:1 mixture of intermedine/lycopsamine, heliotrine, monocrotaline, and retronecine) were conducted. When the tarsi or proboscis were stimulated with PA solutions, males showed positive feeding responses (proboscis extension and sucking movements) to intermedine/lycopsamine, heliotrine, and retronecine in decreasing order of responsiveness, thereby providing evidence that male adults are endowed with taste receptor(s) specific to PAs on the legs as well as on the proboscis. Differently from gustatory responsiveness, only males fed with intermedine/lycopsamine produced a significant quantity of VL (ca. 35μg/male), whereas those that ingested heliotrine or monocrotaline hydrochloride produced traces of VL (<0.18μg/male). Uptake of retronecine did not lead to VL formation at all. In behavioral bioassays to test the attractivity of PAs to males, all individuals tested were attracted exclusively to intermedine/lycopsamine. This shows that certain PA(s) per se serve as attractant(s) for males in locating PA sources, and further suggests that in the field, males will seek particular PA(s) that are indispensable as precursors for the efficient biosynthesis of VL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Classification of the cosmopolitan butterfly genus Danaus (Nymphalidae: Danainae) is revised at subgeneric, specific and subspecific levels, combining for the first time mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence information with morphological data. Tree topologies based on the nuclear genome (allozymes, pheromone components, the morphology of all life history stages and nuclear DNA sequences), on the one hand, and mitochondrial DNA, on the other, are incongruent and challenge the current taxonomy of the genus. Although earlier classifications, based on adult morphology alone, are, in general, well supported by an analysis of total evidence, the mitochondrial phylogeny shows that the species D. chrysippusand its subgenus Anosiaare deeply paraphyletic. Subspecies dorippus of D. chrysippus is the basal clade of the genus and is reinstated as the species D. dorippus. The former species D. plexaureis demoted to a subspecies of D. eresimus. The specific status of D. erippus, as distinct from D. plexippus, is tentatively supported. On the strength of the new data, division of the monophyletic genus Danaus s.l. into three subgenera Danaus s.s.,Salatura and Anosiais unsustainable and is abandoned. Of the 15 terminal clades (taxa) of Danaus s.l. included in the study, 11 are species that broadly conform to the biological species concept. (The West Indian species D. cleophile, missing from our analysis, is the twelfth species). The remaining terminal clades are subspecies of D. chrysippuscomb. nov. and D. dorippusstat. rev. Two sympatric Neotropical species, D. eresimusandD. gilippus, are morphologically distinct and sexually isolated but have nearly identical mitochondrial genomes. In contrast, two partially sympatric Palaeotropical species, D. chrysippus and D. dorippus, are cryptic species that share structural morphology and hybridize but have highly differentiated mitochondrial genomes. D. dorippusis polymorphic for two anciently diverged haplotypes and its history has possibly involved recombinational speciation and/or hybridism. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London,Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005,144, 191−212. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Butterflies of the Danaidae family are considered to be toxic or distasteful due to the presence of cardiac glycosides sequestered from their larval food plants. Alcoholic extracts of specimens of Danaus chrysippus aegyptius and Amauris ochlea ochlea from southern Africa (Namibia, S.-Africa, Mozambique) were analyzed by thin-layer chromatography for these cardenolides. But only 4 of 75 specimens of D. chrysippus aegyptius contained trace amounts, all others including 13 specimens of A. ochlea ochlea were negative. Genetic analysis of the ouabain binding site of the Na+, K+-ATPase revealed that both species do not present an amino acid replacement at the position 122, which otherwise makes the enzyme insensitive to cardenolides suggesting that other strategies of toxin tolerance must have been developed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The lesser wanderer butterfly,Danaus(Anosia)chrysippus petilia(Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Danainae), has been treated as a subspecies for the last 100 years. New mitochondrial DNA sequence data forD. petilia, in conjunction with allozyme, structural, morphometric and pattern characters, constitute a compelling case for its specific rank. The holotype ofD. petiliahas never been located and, as the type location is uncertain, a neotype is designated. Fresh material was collected and examined for this project.Danaus petiliaandD. chrysippushave been separated at Lydekker's Line for an estimated 1.1 million years, and they remain interfertile. However, as an allopatric taxon, diagnosable fromD. chrysippus,D. petiliamerits specific status under the phylogenetic species concept. The following pairs ofD. chrysippussubspecies are considered to be synonyms, the first member of each pair having priority:chrysippus + aegyptius(subspecies),klugii + infumata(hybrid phenotypes) andorientis + liboria(subspecies). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test prior results with a more sensitive technique and larger sample sizes, we assessed genetic diversity among far-flung monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (L.) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), populations from North and South America by using mitochondria) DNA sequences. Our new data corroborate the previously documented close genetic similarity among individuals and reveal no phylogenetic structure among populations throughout the species' New World range in North and South America. Despite this intraspecific homogeneity, the monarch is clearly distinct from its sister taxon Danaus erippus (framer). The evidence suggests that the monarch has colonized its current distribution in relatively recent evolutionary time. Implications for conservation and regulatory policy over interregional transfer are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Flower cues improve foraging by flower visitors. • Southern monarchs prefer highly informative flowers. • Southern monarchs use flower information in a hierarchical way, and cues are complementary. • Southern monarchs do not learn to visit less informative flowers when highly informative flowers are included as options. Flower cues serve as information that improves foraging by flower visitors. These cues may act in a synergic, redundant or complementary way. We examined how the integration of visual cues affects foraging in the southern monarch butterfly, and whether these combined cues can be learned. Artificial flowers having two flower cues, colouration pattern (uniform or radial) and dimension (2D or 3D), were employed in laboratory experiments. We assumed that uniform flowers are less informative than radial ones, and that bi-dimensionality is less informative than tri-dimensionality. These cues resulted in four floral types (uniform 2D, radial 2D, uniform 3D and radial 3D). Two- and multiple choice tests were run to investigate whether butterflies show more attraction to more informative flowers than less informative ones. Flower cues acted in a complementary way, as more informative flowers were preferred by southern monarchs than less informative ones. In a multiple-choice scenario, uniform 2D flowers received less visits than radial flowers of both dimensions. In a second experiment, butterflies were conditioned to the four flower types. No conditioning occurred, as radial flowers were visited consistently more than uniform flowers. Our results show that southern monarchs take integrated flower information into account for foraging decisions, and that learning does not occur when highly informative flowers are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of decrease in the migratory monarch butterfly populations. Topics discussed include probability of loss due to an increase in butterfly mortality during the fall migration to Mexico, loss of milkweed in the primary spring breeding habitats as the other reason of the loss, and the views of biologist Karen Oberhauser.