Facultative mutualism increases survival of an endangered ant-tended butterfly

Thomas, Cameron C.; Tillberg, Chadwick V.; Schultz, Cheryl B.

doi:10.1007/s10841-020-00218-2

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…6 and 7 ), but those differences were not significant at α = 0.05 in our study. These findings echo other studies involving facultative myrmecophilous lycaenids in North America, which have also quantified the effects of larval survival in the wild and have found that mortality is twice as high, or higher, when attendant ants are excluded ( Pierce and Eastel 1986 , Savignano 1994 , Weeks 2003 , Thomas et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Ant protection against predators is often assumed to be the primary benefit in ant-lycaenid associations, and several studies have experimentally demonstrated protective benefits in field settings ( Pierce and Mead 1981 , Pierce and Easteal 1986 , Pierce et al 1987 , Peterson 1993 , Weeks 2003 , Kaminski et al 2010 , Forister et al 2011 , Thomas et al 2020 ). Among previous research that has evaluated protection against predators, including for other myrmecophiles such as sapsucking insects ( Way 1963 , Buckley and Gullan 1991 ), most have not included ant behavior as part of the study (but see Thomas et al 2020 ). To assess ant protection in a behavioral approach, we focused on the myrmecophilic relationship in the Miami blue ( Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) ( Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) ( Comstock and Huntington 1943 ), a critically imperiled butterfly listed as endangered under the U.S.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Protective Benefits of Tending Ants to a Critically Endangered Butterfly

Hill

Trager

Lucky

et al. 2022

Journal of Insect Science

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Ants provide protection to various organisms via myrmecophilous relationships. Most notably, ants and several butterfly species are involved in mainly mutualistic interactions. Previous field studies have shown that butterfly larval survival is increased in the presence of tending ants, suggesting that ants are providing protection against insect predation or parasitism. Here, we conducted a series of timed observational trials under laboratory conditions to assess larval survival and ant protection from insect predators for a myrmecophilous lycaenid butterfly. We focused on a critically endangered butterfly, the Miami blue (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) (Comstock and Huntington) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), and its most common ant associate, the Florida carpenter ant (Camponotus floridanus) (Buckley) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), to test this assumption of ant protection. We found that ants provide significant protection to Miami blue larvae, with later instar larvae receiving a higher level of protection due to differences in tending frequencies. These results will aid in informing conservation management and future organism reintroductions for this endangered butterfly.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

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confidence: 99%

Protective Benefits of Tending Ants to a Critically Endangered Butterfly

Hill

Trager

Lucky

et al. 2022

Journal of Insect Science

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“…Once recruited, ants will display an range of behaviors toward larvae, including antennation, aggregation, and guarding (Lin et al 2019). Field experiments show that ant tending can benefit lycaenid larval survival (Warchola et al 2015, Thomas et al 2020), and although less well studied, ants benefit from the nectar they collect (Fiedler and Saam 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host-plant phenology mediates facultative ant mutualism in the rare butterfly, Celastrina humulus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Mooney,

Fahland,

Nolan

et al. 2023

Environmental Entomology

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Host-plant phenology can directly and indirectly mediate the abundance of insect herbivores. Our objective was to determine how host-plant flowering phenology shapes a facultative ant–lycaenid mutualism. The focus of our research was the hops azure, Celastrina humulus Scott & D. Wright, a rare species whose larvae feed on the pollen-bearing inflorescences of Humulus lupulus var. neomexicanus. We used several approaches to evaluate the role of host-plant flowering phenology in this system. First, we monitored larvae over three study years (2020–2022) to parse the role of host-plant flowering phenology and other factors in shaping the likelihood of ant tending. Second, we tested larval performance at various phenological stages of the host plant. We also quantified variation in soluble proteins and secondary metabolites among inflorescences at varying phenological stages. Lastly, we treated artificial sugar–protein baits with extracts from different phenological stages of the host plant; this allowed us to assess how chemical variation among stages could impact ant recruitment. Monitoring results revealed that the likelihood of ant tending was lowest for larvae on host plants with early-stage inflorescences. These floral stages had the greatest concentrations of both soluble proteins and α-acids (humulone and cohumulone), and in the feeding trial, early-stage flowers enabled greater weight gain for larvae. However, extracts from early-stage flowers reduced ant recruitment to sugar–protein baits. Altogether, these results suggest that early-stage inflorescences enhance larval growth while also reducing the recruitment of mutualist ants. This shows an indirect mechanism whereby changing host-plant phenology can mediate herbivore populations through interactions with ants.

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The Natural History of Caterpillar-Ant Associations

Pierce

Dankowicz

2022

Fascinating Life Sciences

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The caterpillars of many Lepidoptera are neither attacked nor tended by ants but nevertheless appear to be obligately ant-associated and benefit from the enemy-free space created by ants. Obligate myrmecophiles that do not attract ants through stridulatory or chemical signaling are limited to habitats where ants are reliably present for other reasons, either among ant-attended hemipterans, on ant-plants, or around ant nests. Particularly in the tropics, obligate ant associates that passively coexist with ants are more diverse than previously recognized, including, for example, hundreds of African species in the lycaenid subfamily Poritiinae. Mutualists and parasites of ants have been reported in eleven families: Tineidae, Tortricidae, Cyclotornidae, Coleophoridae, Crambidae, Erebidae, Notodontidae, Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, and Riodinidae. Altogether, myrmecophily has originated at least 30 times in Lepidoptera, and many groups may remain undiscovered. The butterfly families Lycaenidae and Riodinidae contain the vast majority of ant-associated species: larvae of at least 3841 (71%) of the ~5390 described Lycaenidae and 308 (20%) of the ~1562 described Riodinidae are known or inferred to be ant-associated, and both families possess specialized, convergently developed exocrine glands and stridulatory devices to communicate with ants. Many caterpillar-ant relationships previously characterized as mutualisms may actually be parasitic, as caterpillars can manipulate ants and ultimately exert a fitness cost. In the family Lycaenidae, highly specialized and obligate ant associations are found largely in the Old World tropics, Australia, and Southern Africa, where the stoichiometry of soil micronutrients, particularly sodium and phosphorus, climate, host plants, and geography may all selectively shape caterpillar-ant associations.

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Facultative mutualism increases survival of an endangered ant-tended butterfly

Cited by 6 publications

References 45 publications

Protective Benefits of Tending Ants to a Critically Endangered Butterfly

Protective Benefits of Tending Ants to a Critically Endangered Butterfly

Host-plant phenology mediates facultative ant mutualism in the rare butterfly, Celastrina humulus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

The Natural History of Caterpillar-Ant Associations

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