Courtship Behavior of the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus L.

Pliske, Thomas E.

doi:10.1093/aesa/68.1.143

Cited by 70 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Usually the scents are produced in scent glands and are emitted either from transformed scales, androconia, which can be aggregated into so-called sex brands on the dorsal or the ventral part of male wings as in many pierids and nymphalids (Tinbergen et al, 1942;Rutowski, 1980;Scoble, 1992;Rauser and Rutowski, 2003), or from eversible hairpencils at the tip of the abdomen, as in many danaids (Brower et al, 1965;Meinwald et al, 1969;Pliske and Eisner, 1969;Pliske, 1974;Pliske et al, 1976). There are at least five conceivable functions that could explain the widespread occurrence of male scents in butterflies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Male sex pheromone release and female mate choice in a butterfly

Andersson

Borg‐Karlson²,

Vongvanich³

et al. 2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY In butterflies female mate choice is influenced by both visual and olfactory cues, the latter of which are important at close range. Males of the green-veined butterfly, Pieris napi, are known to release citral(mixture of geranial and neral, 1:1), but its role(s) and conditions of release are not known. Here, we show that male P. napi release citral when interacting with conspecific males, conspecific females, heterospecific males and also when alone. The amount of citral released correlated strongly with male flight activity, which explained more than 70% of the variation. This suggests that males do not exercise control over turning release on or off, but rather that citral is emitted as a passive physical process during flight. Electroantennogram experiments showed that female antennal response was ten times more sensitive to citral than male response. Females expressed acceptance behavior when exposed to models made with freshly excised male wings or those treated with citral following chemical extraction, but not to ones with extracted wings only. Hence, these behavioral and electrophysiological tests provide strong evidence that citral is a signal from the male directed to the female during courtship, and that it functions as a male sex pheromone.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, Pliske described how, in a similar manner, male monarchs first pursue females in the air, then proceed with aerial 'hairpencilling' before performing an aerial takedown just prior to copulation (Pliske, 1974).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male sex pheromone release and female mate choice in a butterfly

Andersson

Borg‐Karlson²,

Vongvanich³

et al. 2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the highly modified male genitalia are efficient at plug removal. Males bear androconial patches on the wings and exhibit courtship behavior (characteristics often found in polygynous species (Pliske 1975)), although they may facultatively practice aerial capture and forced copulation (Orr 2002). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the occurrence and diversity of the sphragis in butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

Carvalho

Orr

Kawahara

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Males of many butterfly species secrete long-lasting mating plugs to prevent their mates from copulating with other males, thus ensuring their sperm will fertilize all future eggs laid. Certain species have further developed a greatly enlarged, often spectacular, externalized plug, termed a sphragis. This distinctive structure results from complex adaptations in both male and female genitalia and is qualitatively distinct from the amorphous, internal mating plugs of other species. Intermediate conditions between internal plug and external sphragis are rare. The term sphragis has often been misunderstood in recent years, hence we provide a formal definition based on accepted usage throughout most of the last century. Despite it being a highly apparent trait, neither the incidence nor diversity of the sphragis has been systematically documented. We record a sphragis or related structure in 273 butterfly species, representing 72 species of Papilionidae in 13 genera, and 201 species of Nymphalidae in 9 genera. These figures represent respectively, 13% of Papilionidae, 3% of Nymphalidae, and 1% of known butterfly species. A well-formed sphragis evolved independently in at least five butterfly subfamilies, with a rudimentary structure also occurring in an additional subfamily. The sphragis is probably the plesiomorphic condition in groups such as Parnassius (Papilionidae: Parnassiinae) and many Acraeini (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae). Some butterflies, such as those belonging to the Parnassius simo group, have apparently lost the structure secondarily. The material cost of producing the sphragis is considerable. It is typically offset by production of a smaller spermatophore, thus reducing the amount of male-derived nutrients donated to the female during mating for use in oogenesis and/or somatic maintenance. The sphragis potentially represents one of the clearest examples of mate conflict known. Investigating its biology should yield testable hypotheses to further our understanding of the selective processes at play in an ‘arms race’ between the sexes. This paper provides an overview, which will inform future study.

show abstract

“…Another piece of evidence for non-dependence on PAs in D. erippus is the lack of dihydropyrrolizines in the sister species D. plexippus, even when the PA-precursors are present in its tissues (Meinwald et al 1968(Meinwald et al , 1969. Pliske (1975c) suggested that lack of PA dependence is correlated with an evolutionary shift in this species, toward dominance of visual and tactile cues in courtship rather than olfactory ones. Nevertheless, dihydropyrrolizines have been found in other danaine species, such as D. (Salatura) genutia, D. (Salatura) affinis, D. (Anosia) gilippus, D. (Anosia) chrysippus, and some species of the genera Parantica, Ideopsis, Amauris, Tirumala, Euploea, and Lycorea (see Ackery and VaneWright 1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern Monarchs do not Develop Learned Preferences for Flowers With Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Danaus butterflies sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from nectar and leaves of various plant species for defense and reproduction. We tested the hypothesis that the southern monarch butterfly Danaus erippus shows innate preferences for certain flower colors and has the capacity to develop learned preferences for artificial flowers presenting advantageous floral rewards such as PAs. We predicted that orange and yellow flowers would be innately preferred by southern monarchs. Another prediction is that flowers with both sucrose and PAs would be preferred over those having sucrose only, regardless of flower color. In nature, males of Danaus generally visit PA sources more often than females, so we expected that males of D. erippus would exhibit a stronger learned preference for PA sources than the females. In the innate preference tests, adults were offered artificial non-rewarding yellow, orange, blue, red, green, and violet flowers. Orange and yellow artificial flowers were most visited by southern monarchs, followed by blue and red ones. No individual visited either green or violet flowers. For assessing learned preferences for PA flowers over flowers with no PAs, southern monarchs were trained to associate orange flowers with sucrose plus the PA monocrotaline vs. yellow flowers with sucrose only; the opposite combination was used to train another set of butterflies. In the tests, empty flowers were offered to trained butterflies. Neither males nor females showed learned preferences for flower colors associated with PAs in the training set. Thus, southern monarchs resemble the sister species Danaus plexippus in their innate preferences for orange and yellow flowers. Southern monarchs, similarly to temperate monarchs, might not be as PA-demanding as are other danaine species.

show abstract

Courtship Behavior of the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus L.

Cited by 70 publications

References 0 publications

Male sex pheromone release and female mate choice in a butterfly

Male sex pheromone release and female mate choice in a butterfly

A review of the occurrence and diversity of the sphragis in butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

Southern Monarchs do not Develop Learned Preferences for Flowers With Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About