Isolation of a lactone, structurally related to the esterifying acids of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, from the costal fringes of male Ithomiinae

Edgar, J. A.; Culvenor, C. C. J.; Pliske, Thomas E.

doi:10.1007/bf00988276

Cited by 67 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Edgar et al, (1974) (see also Edgar, 1975, andPliske, 1975b) have put forward the hypothesis that the danaids' use of, and dependence on, PAs may have developed during a period when these alkaloids were constituents of their larval foodplants. These authors suggested that the ancestral foodplants contained both PAs and CGs and that under the pressure, of ancestral danaids which depended on both substances, the plants split into three lines, one containing only PAs, one only CGs, and one containing none of these compounds.…”

Section: Speculative Considerations On Phylogenetic Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Edgar et al (1974) pointed out that the apocynad plant Fernaldia pandura, used as larval host of the primitive ithomiid butterfly Tithorea harmonia salvadores, contains a dihydropyrrolizine (another Fernaldia species contains CG); alsothe apocynad genus Parsonsia contains PA, attracts danaids and is occasionally used as a larval foodplant by Euploea core and Danaus harnatus. Finally, Muroya et al, (1967) reported that Parsonsia is a foodplant of Idea leuconoe.…”

Section: Speculative Considerations On Phylogenetic Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This lactone is most probably derived from the acid moiety of PAs which the males ingest from withered plants (Edgar et al, 1976a). Ithomiidae, it should be noted, are also aposematic and are the models for many mimetic associations; the majority of species feed as larvae on Solanaceae (some "primitive" members of the group feed on Apocynaceae; see below) (Drummond, 1976).…”

Section: Relationships Of Other Lepidoptera To Pa-containing Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assuming that the ancestral foodplants were CG + PA-containing, Edgar et al (1974) envisaged that "mating of early danaids occurred in the vicinity of the larval foodplants and that males subsequently developed the means of storing and disseminating volatile pyrrolizidine alkaloid-derived plant substances, then used by the females to locate the larval foodplants. By disseminating these substances in the vicinity of a female in flight they would be able to make her settle and thus effect mating in a place remote from the larval foodplant.…”

Section: Speculative Considerations On Phylogenetic Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The males of some species of Ithomiidae (a butterfly group closely related to Danaidae) secrete a lactone on the hairs of hindwing fringes (Edgar et al, 1976a), which serves as an aphrodisiac for the female and/or as a male-male recognition signal (Pliske, 1975a). This lactone is most probably derived from the acid moiety of PAs which the males ingest from withered plants (Edgar et al, 1976a).…”

Section: Relationships Of Other Lepidoptera To Pa-containing Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chemical Communication, Plant Relationships, and Mimicry in the Evolution of Danaid Butterflies

Boppré

1978

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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The knowledge on pheromone biology in danaid biatterflies, on relations between adult danaids and pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants, and on relations between danaid larvae and cardiac glycosidecontaining foodplants is briefly reviewed and hypotheses on the phylogenetic origin and development of these phenomena are discussed.Close range chemical communication mediated by male pheromones is essential in the courtship of danaid butterflies, and their pheromone biology shows particularly elaborate peculiarities (see Boppr6, 1977). One of the most striking is that phytochemicals obtained by adult feeding serve as precursors for pheromone components found in many species of Danaidae.Danaids, however, are not only associated with these plants which can provide pheromone precursors for the adults, but also with their larval foodplants, the bitter tasting toxins of which are often utilized by the insects for defensive purposes. This latter association has become very well known because it is the basis for the butterflies' conspicuous role as mimicry models.It is the aim of this paper to review briefly the knowledge on pheromone biology of danaids as well as on their associations with plants, and to point out open questions. The information given will be compared with similar phenomena in other Lepidoptera and taken as a basis for discussing hypotheses on the possible phylogenetic development of both chemical communication in danaids and danaid/ plant relationships, considering the role and influence of mimicry at the same time.

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Section: Speculative Considerations On Phylogenetic Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Speculative Considerations On Phylogenetic Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%