Lycaenid caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) eating flowers of Dalea pennellii var. chilensis (Fabaceae) in the northern Chilean Andes

Vargas, Héctor A.

doi:10.1590/s0085-56262014000300015

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This seems inconsistent with the occurrence of cryptic florivorous larvae across the Lepidoptera (McCall and Barr 2012;McCall et al 2013;Tsuji and Sota 2013;Vargas 2014). However, limited occurrence in parameter space is not necessarily the same as uncommon environmental conditions.…”

Section: Conditions Determining Herbivore Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Florivory as an Opportunity Benefit of Aposematism

Higginson

Speed

Ruxton

2015

The American Naturalist

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Online enhancements: appendix, zip file.abstract: Inconspicuous prey pay a cost of reduced feeding opportunities. Flowers are highly nutritious but are positioned where prey would be apparent to predators and often contain toxins to reduce consumption. However, many herbivores are specialized to subvert these defenses by retaining toxins for their own use. Here, we present a model of the growth and life history of a small herbivore that can feed on leaves or flowers during its development and can change its primary defense against visual predators between crypsis and warning coloration. When herbivores can retain plant toxins, their fitness is greatly increased when they are aposematic and can consume flowers. Thus, toxin sequestration leading to aposematism may enable a significant opportunity benefit for florivory. Florivory by cryptic herbivores is predicted when toxins are very potent but are at high concentration only in flowers and not in leaves. Herbivores should usually switch to eating flowers only when large and in most conditions should switch simultaneously from crypsis to aposematism. Our results suggest that florivory should be widespread in later instars of small aposematic herbivores and should be associated with ontogenic color change. Florivory is likely to play an underappreciated role in herbivorous insect life histories and host plant reproductive success.

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Section: Conditions Determining Herbivore Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Florivory as an Opportunity Benefit of Aposematism

Higginson

Speed

Ruxton

2015

The American Naturalist

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“…At the local level, D. penelli var. chilensis was recently recorded as a host plant for flower-feeding larvae of three Lycaenidae species in the same study site (Vargas 2014), highlighting the importance of this little studied native plant as a host for native butterflies. The discovery of Z. c. limonella increases the butterfly fauna of Chile with one more representative from the northern area of this country.…”

mentioning

confidence: 85%

Zerene cesonia limonellaLamas (Pieridae): First Distribution Record in Chile and First Host Plant Record

Vargas

Cerdeña

Lamas

2015

Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society

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“…All parts of the plant can be consumed by the larvae. Flowers are consumed in particular by some moths and several Lycaenidae [26]. Cones and fruits [27], as well as their seeds [28], are consumed by other species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil

Legal

2022

Diversity

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Lepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (usually caterpillars) nor the one that lasts the longest (very often chrysalises). These two stages are often directly related to litter and soil, although only the interaction at the pupal stage seems to follow a phylogenetic logic with two independent evolutionary events for the preference with soil: Use of litter and the upper “O” horizon as protection against predation for the evolutionarily oldest Lepidoptera families, pupation at greater depths (up to 60 centimetres in extreme cases) for the most derived Lepidoptera families; this probably to take advantage of the thermal and moisture buffer provided by the soil. An estimate suggests that about 25% of lepidopteran species worldwide have more or less obligatory interactions with soil.

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Lycaenid caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) eating flowers of Dalea pennellii var. chilensis (Fabaceae) in the northern Chilean Andes

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Florivory as an Opportunity Benefit of Aposematism

Florivory as an Opportunity Benefit of Aposematism

Zerene cesonia limonellaLamas (Pieridae): First Distribution Record in Chile and First Host Plant Record

“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil

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