Larval Host Choice of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) on Four Native California Desert Milkweed Species

Robertson, Geoff; Zalucki, Myron P.; Paine, Timothy D.

doi:10.1007/s10905-015-9524-2

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Finally, we should note that our modeling approach is correlative and not intended for the inference of direct causation, although basic ecological knowledge suggests that causality undoubtedly underlies many of the patterns including the connection between milkweed habitat and monarch presence. The habitat associations reported here could be considered a starting point for common garden experiments designed to assess germination and growth of milkweed species under different abiotic conditions, and to assess monarch preference for and development on different hosts and under different conditions (Robertson et al, 2015;Hoang et al, 2017). The latter issue (monarch performance on different host species) is particularly important given the diversity of hosts used by the western monarch, and the extent to which different hosts appear to have distinct associations with climate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Plants and Climate Structure Habitat Associations of the Western Monarch Butterfly

et al. 2019

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The monarch butterfly is one of the most easily recognized and frequently studied insects in the world, and has recently come into the spotlight of public attention and conservation concern because of declining numbers of individuals associated with both the eastern and western migrations. Historically, the larger eastern migration has received the most scientific attention, but this has been changing in recent years, and here we report the largest-ever attempt to map and characterize non-overwintering habitat for the western monarch butterfly. Across the environmentally and topographically complex western landscape, we include 8,427 observations of adults and juvenile monarchs, as well as 20,696 records from 13 milkweed host plant species. We find high heterogeneity of suitable habitats across the geographic range, with extensive concentrations in the California floristic province in particular. We also find habitat suitability for the butterfly to be structured primarily by host plant habitat associations, which are in turn structured by a diverse suite of climatic variables. These results add to our knowledge of range and occupancy determinants for migratory species and provide a tool that can be used by conservation biologists and researchers interested in interactions among climate, hosts and host-specific animals, and by managers for prioritizing future conservation actions at regional to watershed scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host Plants and Climate Structure Habitat Associations of the Western Monarch Butterfly

et al. 2019

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“…Additional work has focused on the survival of early-instar larvae on a range of North American species native to Florida ( Zalucki and Brower 1992 ), the Midwest ( Pocius et al 2017 ), and across the Eastern United States ( Zalucki and Malcolm 1999 ). Furthermore, Robertson et al (2015) investigated larval preferences among four milkweeds native to the California desert, while Agrawal et al (2015) compared larval performance on a wide variety of milkweed species to determine the impacts of evolutionary history and latex on milkweed defenses and monarch growth.…”

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confidence: 99%

Milkweed Matters: Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Survival and Development on Nine Midwestern Milkweed Species

Pocius

Debinski

Pleasants

et al. 2017

Environmental Entomology

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The population of monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 yr. In order to increase monarch numbers in the breeding range, habitat restoration that includes planting milkweed plants is essential. Milkweeds in the genus Asclepias and Cynanchum are the only host plants for larval monarch butterflies in North America, but larval performance and survival across nine milkweeds native to the Midwest is not well documented. We examined development and survival of monarchs from first-instar larval stages to adulthood on nine milkweed species native to Iowa. The milkweeds included Asclepias exaltata (poke milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias hirtella (tall green milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias speciosa (showy milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias sullivantii (prairie milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), Asclepias verticillata (whorled milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae), and Cynanchum laeve (honey vine milkweed) (Gentianales: Apocynaceae). In greenhouse experiments, fewer larvae that fed on Asclepias hirtella and Asclepias sullivantii reached adulthood compared with larvae that fed on the other milkweed species. Monarch pupal width and adult dry mass differed among milkweeds, but larval duration (days), pupal duration (days), pupal mass, pupal length, and adult wet mass were not significantly different. Both the absolute and relative adult lipids were different among milkweed treatments; these differences are not fully explained by differences in adult dry mass. Monarch butterflies can survive on all nine milkweed species, but the expected survival probability varied from 30 to 75% among the nine milkweed species.

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“…The abundance and diversity of butterflies is controlled to a great extent by the presence and absence of food plants (Zalucki & Suzuki, 1987; Brower et al ., 2012; Batalden, Oberhauser & Peterson, 2014; Robertson, Zalucki & Paine, 2015; Pleasants & Oberhauser, 2017; Chowdhury et al ., 2021 a , b ), and a landscape‐level reduction of host plants can cause huge impacts on migrants (Zalucki & Kitching, 1982; Zalucki & Suzuki, 1987; de Roode et al ., 2008; Dyer & Forister, 2016; Pleasants & Oberhauser, 2017). For example, in North America, the use of genetically modified crops can impact insect–herbivore relationships and interspecific competition with other weeds (Rehfeldt et al ., 2012).…”

Section: Conserving Migratory Butterfliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration in butterflies: a global overview

et al. 2021

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Insect populations including butterflies are declining worldwide, and they are becoming an urgent conservation priority in many regions. Understanding which butterfly species migrate is critical to planning for their conservation, because management actions for migrants need to be coordinated across time and space. Yet, while migration appears to be widespread among butterflies, its prevalence, as well as its taxonomic and geographic distribution are poorly understood. The study of insect migration is hampered by their small size and the difficulty of tracking individuals over long distances. Here we review the literature on migration in butterflies, one of the best‐known insect groups. We find that nearly 600 butterfly species show evidence of migratory movements. Indeed, the rate of ‘discovery’ of migratory movements in butterflies suggests that many more species might in fact be migratory. Butterfly migration occurs across all families, in tropical as well as temperate taxa; Nymphalidae has more migratory species than any other family (275 species), and Pieridae has the highest proportion of migrants (13%; 133 species). Some 13 lines of evidence have been used to ascribe migration status in the literature, but only a single line of evidence is available for 92% of the migratory species identified, with four or more lines of evidence available for only 10 species – all from the Pieridae and Nymphalidae. Migratory butterflies occur worldwide, although the geographic distribution of migration in butterflies is poorly resolved, with most data so far coming from Europe, USA, and Australia. Migration is much more widespread in butterflies than previously realised – extending far beyond the well‐known examples of the monarch Danaus plexippus and the painted lady Vanessa cardui – and actions to conserve butterflies and insects in general must account for the spatial dependencies introduced by migratory movements.

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Larval Host Choice of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) on Four Native California Desert Milkweed Species

Cited by 15 publications

References 51 publications

Host Plants and Climate Structure Habitat Associations of the Western Monarch Butterfly

Host Plants and Climate Structure Habitat Associations of the Western Monarch Butterfly

Milkweed Matters: Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Survival and Development on Nine Midwestern Milkweed Species

Migration in butterflies: a global overview

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