Estrutura floral das angiospermas usadas por Heliconius erato phyllis (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

FLOWER STRUCTURE OF ANGIOSPERMS USED BY HELICONIUS ERATO PHYLLIS (LEPIDOPTERA, NYMPHALIDAE) IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE, BRAZIL.A field survey of flowering plants used as food resource by the adults of Heliconius erato phyllis (Fabricius, 1775) was carried out in four sites located in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Samples were taken in preserved areas of the Atlantic Rain and Myrtaceae forests, an Eucalyptus plantation, and an urban park. Adult feeding frequencies on flowers were registered monthly from December 1996 to May 1997, on plants located on previously marked 200 m long transects. Flowers on which H. erato phyllis fed in the field were collected, drawn and morphometrically characterized. Feeding was registered on flowers of twenty-three species, of which seventeen are new records for H. erato in Brazil . The use of a given plant varied among localities, as a function of its corresponding abundance. The most visited flowers were those of Lantana camara L. and Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) Vahl, followed by Dahlia pinnata Voss in the urban site. The data suggest the existence of size and shape convergence between the proboscis and the small, tubular flowers upon which H. erato phyllis feeds. They also indicate that H. erato phyllis adults have an opportunistic nectar feeding / pollen gathering habit, using several of those flowers available in a given time and locality that fit such a morphometrical pattern. Since plant species of both primitive and derived families are used, there is no indication that phylogenetic constraints play a major role in this association, nor that color of flowers, growth pattern or size of the plants are relevant in determining their use by H. erato phyllis.

Biologia floral e sistema reprodutivo da erva-baleeira (Varronia curassavica Jacq.)

“…Em estudos de plantas melitófilas da família Boraginaceae na margem esquerda do Rio São Francisco (Alagoas) e margens do rio temporário (Sergipe), a erva-baleeira, destaca-se como uma importante fonte de recursos florais, por apresentar uma floração contínua o que favorece a estabilidade na abundância dos visitantes florais nas áreas, exercendo uma forte influência sobre a estrutura da comunidade de abelhas (Moura et al, 2007). Outros visitantes florais como as borboletas foram observados por Corrêa et al (2001) e Lemes et al (2008), assim como no trabalho.…”

Butterfly Learning and the Diversification of Plant Leaf Shape

“…One explanation for the observed spontaneous preference for three and five petal flower shapes is an innate preference for radial symmetry, which corresponds to the actinomorphic flowers used most commonly by Heliconius (Corrêa et al, 2001). After training, we conditioned individuals to shift their shape feeding preference to an artificial flower with two petals, the least preferred shape initially.…”

Geographical variation in larval host-plant use by Heliconius erato (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and consequences for adult life history

“…The small females of H. erato phyllis could have a smaller reproductive apparatus, that produces and stores a lesser amount of eggs (Dunlap-Pianka, 1979); but the egg allocation in terms of size and fertility is similar to greater females. Thus, we consider the body size variation in H. erato phyllis as part of its high phenotypic plasticity (see Nylin & Gotthard, 1998;Ramos & Freitas, 1999;Correa et al, 2001). In this case, it benefits H. erato phyllis, by allowing this species to explore a wide range of host-plants as larval food resource, which can vary in abundance not only in space but also in time (Rodrigues, 1999).…”