Egg Phenology of a Host-Specialist Butterfly in the Western Slopes of the Northern Chilean Andes

Abstract

Phenological studies are especially important in order to understand the ecological process operating at temporal level. The western slopes of the northern Chilean Andes at about 3,500 m asl are a mosaic of arid environments in which precipitations are highly seasonal, mostly concentrated in summer. Teriocolias zelia andina Forbes (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is one of the most conspicuous and regularly observed butterflies flying in this region; it is a host specialist associated with the native shrub Senna birostris var. arequipensis (Fabaceae). The objectives of this study were (1) to characterize the temporal variations in the relative abundance of eggs of this host-specialist butterfly and (2) to examine the relationship of these variations with leaf phenology. Monthly samplings of eggs were carried out from February 2011 to January 2012. Circular statistical analyses of the relative abundance of eggs indicated clustered distribution along the year with the mean vector in June. Temporal variation in the relative abundance of eggs was correlated (Spearman rank correlation test) with the availability of plant substrate for egg laying and larval feeding.

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

“…Unfortunately, the phenology of the northern Chilean Andes butterflies has been little investigated. However, as also mentioned for some other Neotropical lepidopterans (Bendicho-Lopez et al 2003;Pessoa-Queiroz et al 2008;Muniz et al 2012), an important role of the host plant phenology was mentioned for the temporal variation of the host-specialist butterfly Teriocolias zelia andina Forbes, 1928 (Pieridae, Coliadinae) in the same study site (Vargas 2012;Vargas & Benítez 2013). Thus the pattern here reported for N. faga, with a striking variation in the abundance between two successive summers, deserves further attention as the collections were performed at different flowering stages.…”

“…The western slopes of the northern Chilean Andes, at about 3,000 m elevation, are characterized by a tropical xeric bioclimate (Luebert & Pliscoff 2006), with a highly seasonal vegetation cover that generally reaches the higher levels about March-April after the summer rains, which provide the necessary water input to prompt vegetative growth (Muñoz & Bonacic 2006;Luebert & Pliscoff 2006;Vargas & Benítez 2013).…”