ISSN:
1420-9071
Keywords:
Cardiac glycoside loss
;
Danaus plexippus
;
aging
;
breakdown of chemical defense
;
three trophic level interactions
;
automimicry
;
Lepidoptera
;
Asclepias
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are unpalatable to various vertebrate predators because their larvae sequester bitter and emetic cardiac glycosides (CGs) from milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.). Here we show that the concentration of the defensive CGs decrease as individual butterflies age, regardless of the CGs' initial amounts or specific chemical structures. Consequently, individual monarch butterflies can change from being unpalatable models to palatable mimics during their lifetime. Since monarchs breed continuously over the spring and summer in North America, freshly emerged adult butterflies may serve as noxious models for older individuals which become automimics as they age.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01984960
