Host ant use of the Alcon blue butterfly at the northern range margin

Vilbas, Margus; Esperk, Toomas; Teder, Tiit

doi:10.1007/s10841-016-9921-7

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 58 publications

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“…These butterflies are known to have very specific requirements regarding the phenological stage of their host plants, preferring to oviposit on buds on early developmental stages (Thomas and Elmes 2001). They are also very specific regarding the species identity of their host ants (Thomas et al 1989), although there is remarkable local and regional variation in intraspecific host ant use (Vilbas et al 2016a), and specificity is not complete in some populations (i.e. the same butterfly population may use multiple host ant species, Als et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct and plant trait‐mediated effects of the local environmental context on butterfly oviposition patterns

Valdés

Ehrlén

2018

Oikos

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Variation in the intensity of plant–animal interactions over different spatial scales is widespread and might strongly influence fitness and trait selection in plants. Differences in traits among plant individuals have been shown to influence variation in interaction intensities within populations, while differences in environmental factors and community composition are shown to be important for variation over larger scales. However, little is still known about the relative importance of the local environmental context vs. plant traits for the outcome of interactions within plant populations. We investigated how oviposition by the seed‐predator butterfly Phengaris alcon on its host plant Gentiana pneumonanthe was related to host plant traits and to local environmental variation, as well as how oviposition patterns translated into effects on host plant fruit set. We considered the local environmental context in terms of height of the surrounding vegetation and abundance of the butterfly's second host, Myrmica ants. The probability of oviposition was higher in plants that were surrounded by lower vegetation, and both the probability of oviposition and the number of eggs increased in early‐flowering and tall plants with many flowers in the three study populations. Flowering phenology, shoot height and flower production were, in turn, related to higher surrounding vegetation. Myrmica abundance was correlated with vegetation height, but had no effect on oviposition patterns. Oviposition and subsequent seed predation by the caterpillars strongly reduced host plant fruit set. Our results show that plant–animal interactions are context‐dependent not only because the context influences the abundance or the behavior of the animal interactor, but also because it influences the expression of plant traits that affect the outcome of the interaction. The results also demonstrate that heterogeneity in environmental conditions at a very local scale can be important for the outcomes of interactions.

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