1. The foraging activities of the papilionid butterflies Ornithoptera priamus poseidon and Papilio ulysses, and the solitary bee Amegilla sapiens (Apoidea, Anthophoridae) on the shrub Stachytarpheta mutabilis were studied in highland Papua New Guinea. 2. The insects' activity patterns were analysed at three sites with differing diurnal microclimate variation. O. priamus and A. sapiens foraged in the morning (after a period of basking and wing-whirring) and late afternoon when temperatures were well below daily maxima, whereas P. ulysses showed foraging peaks during the hottest part of the day. 3. Site choice by all 3 species appeared to be determined primarily by temperature, but within the limits imposed by temperature, nectar supplies probably determined which site was visited. 4. P. ulysses showed interspersed foraging and courtship behaviour, and no behavioural switching was observed for this species. At high temperatures, both O. priamus and A. sapiens ceased foraging and showed territorial and courtship behaviour. This behavioural change allowed avoidance of heat stress, and occurred even when nectar supplies were maintained at high levels. 5. Thermal effects on behavioural switching in these insects are compared with related phenomena in other bees and butterflies.
We present movement data for a species of New Guinea “giant rat”, Mallomys rothschildi, as a test of the efficacy of a recently developed method of spool‐and‐line tracking in short‐term ecological/behavioural studies. We demonstrate that M. rothschildi is scansorial, feeds on shoots of Pandanus spp., and ranges freely over large areas without apparently being constrained by a fixed “home” nest. Another species, Hyomys golialh, occurs sympatrically and is superficially virtually indistinguishable from M. rolhschildi. Data from the single individual tracked suggest that the two species are ecologically segregated on the basis of clear behavioural differences. We note the considerable advantages of spool‐and‐line tracking over radio tracking in this type of study.
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