91-470: Baronia brevicornis , commonly known as the short-horned baronia , is a species of butterfly in the monotypic genus Baronia and is placed in a subfamily of its own, the Baroniinae , a sister group of the remainder of the swallowtail butterflies. It is endemic to a very small area of Mexico , where the distribution is patchy and restricted. The genus is named after Oscar Theodor Baron who collected
182-631: A diapause (resting) stage, and the hatching may take place only in spring. Some temperate region butterflies, such as the Camberwell beauty , lay their eggs in the spring and have them hatch in the summer. Butterfly larvae, or caterpillars, consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their time searching for and eating food. Although most caterpillars are herbivorous, a few species are predators : Spalgis epius eats scale insects , while lycaenids such as Liphyra brassolis are myrmecophilous , eating ant larvae. Some larvae, especially those of
273-493: A butterfly cannot fly until the wings are unfolded. A newly emerged butterfly needs to spend some time inflating its wings with hemolymph and letting them dry, during which time it is extremely vulnerable to predators. The colourful patterns on many butterfly wings tell potential predators that they are toxic. Hence, the genetic basis of wing pattern formation can illuminate both the evolution of butterflies as well as their developmental biology . The colour of butterfly wings
364-570: A butterfly through metamorphosis has held great appeal to mankind. To transform from the miniature wings visible on the outside of the pupa into large structures usable for flight, the pupal wings undergo rapid mitosis and absorb a great deal of nutrients. If one wing is surgically removed early on, the other three will grow to a larger size. In the pupa, the wing forms a structure that becomes compressed from top to bottom and pleated from proximal to distal ends as it grows, so that it can rapidly be unfolded to its full adult size. Several boundaries seen in
455-417: A common family. In some species, such as the great spangled fritillary , the eggs are deposited close to but not on the food plant. This most likely happens when the egg overwinters before hatching and where the host plant loses its leaves in winter, as do violets in this example. The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies, but eggs laid close to winter, especially in temperate regions, go through
546-611: A conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the superfamilies Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies in the Americas) and Papilionoidea (all others). The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene , about 56 million years ago, though molecular likely originated in the Cretaceous . Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle , and like other holometabolous insects they undergo complete metamorphosis . Winged adults lay eggs on
637-442: A critical point. This simultaneous collapse occurs, because pollinator species depend on each other when surviving under difficult conditions. Such a community-wide collapse, involving many pollinator species, can occur suddenly when increasingly harsh conditions pass a critical point and recovery from such a collapse might not be easy. The improvement in conditions needed for pollinators to recover could be substantially larger than
728-675: A different definition between mutualism and symbiosis, they have been largely used interchangeably in the past, and confusion on their use has persisted. Mutualism plays a key part in ecology and evolution . For example, mutualistic interactions are vital for terrestrial ecosystem function as: A prominent example of pollination mutualism is with bees and flowering plants. Bees use these plants as their food source with pollen and nectar. In turn, they transfer pollen to other nearby flowers, inadvertently allowing for cross-pollination. Cross-pollination has become essential in plant reproduction and fruit/seed production. The bees get their nutrients from
819-571: A few butterflies (e.g., harvesters ) eat harmful insects, and a few are predators of ants , while others live as mutualists in association with ants. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts. The Smithsonian Institution says "butterflies are certainly one of the most appealing creatures in nature". The Oxford English Dictionary derives the word straightforwardly from Old English butorflēoge , butter-fly; similar names in Old Dutch and Old High German show that
910-444: A few species. Some butterflies have organs of hearing and some species make stridulatory and clicking sounds. Many species of butterfly maintain territories and actively chase other species or individuals that may stray into them. Some species will bask or perch on chosen perches. The flight styles of butterflies are often characteristic and some species have courtship flight displays. Butterflies can only fly when their temperature
1001-452: A further term in the formula, representing a saturation mechanism, to avoid this occurring. In 1989, David Hamilton Wright modified the above Lotka–Volterra equations by adding a new term, βM / K , to represent a mutualistic relationship. Wright also considered the concept of saturation, which means that with higher densities, there is a decrease in the benefits of further increases of the mutualist population. Without saturation, depending on
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#17328906834521092-606: A hard-ridged outer layer of shell, called the chorion . This is lined with a thin coating of wax which prevents the egg from drying out before the larva has had time to fully develop. Each egg contains a number of tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, called micropyles ; the purpose of these holes is to allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly eggs vary greatly in size and shape between species, but are usually upright and finely sculptured. Some species lay eggs singly, others in batches. Many females produce between one hundred and two hundred eggs. Butterfly eggs are fixed to
1183-503: A leaf before eggs are laid on it. Many butterflies use chemical signals, pheromones ; some have specialized scent scales ( androconia ) or other structures ( coremata or "hair pencils" in the Danaidae). Vision is well developed in butterflies and most species are sensitive to the ultraviolet spectrum. Many species show sexual dimorphism in the patterns of UV reflective patches. Colour vision may be widespread but has been demonstrated in only
1274-416: A leaf with a special glue which hardens rapidly. As it hardens it contracts, deforming the shape of the egg. This glue is easily seen surrounding the base of every egg forming a meniscus. The nature of the glue has been little researched but in the case of Pieris brassicae , it begins as a pale yellow granular secretion containing acidophilic proteins. This is viscous and darkens when exposed to air, becoming
1365-547: A longer lifespan of several months as adults. The thorax of the butterfly is devoted to locomotion. Each of the three thoracic segments has two legs (among nymphalids , the first pair is reduced and the insects walk on four legs). The second and third segments of the thorax bear the wings. The leading edges of the forewings have thick veins to strengthen them, and the hindwings are smaller and more rounded and have fewer stiffening veins. The forewings and hindwings are not hooked together ( as they are in moths ) but are coordinated by
1456-448: A necessity for their successful establishment. Many butterflies, such as the painted lady , monarch, and several danaine migrate for long distances. These migrations take place over a number of generations and no single individual completes the whole trip. The eastern North American population of monarchs can travel thousands of miles south-west to overwintering sites in Mexico . There is
1547-469: A phenomenon that is used in Three Sisters farming . One researcher has proposed that the key advantage Homo sapiens had over Neanderthals in competing over similar habitats was the former's mutualism with dogs. The microbiota in the human intestine coevolved with the human species, and this relationship is considered to be a mutualism that is beneficial both to the human host and the bacteria in
1638-595: A plant trades food resources in the form of nectar or pollen for the service of pollen dispersal. However, daciniphilous Bulbophyllum orchid species trade sex pheromone precursor or booster components via floral synomones /attractants in a true mutualistic interactions with males of Dacini fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae). Phagophiles feed (resource) on ectoparasites , thereby providing anti-pest service, as in cleaning symbiosis . Elacatinus and Gobiosoma , genera of gobies , feed on ectoparasites of their clients while cleaning them. Zoochory
1729-646: A reverse migration in the spring. It has recently been shown that the British painted lady undertakes a 9,000-mile round trip in a series of steps by up to six successive generations, from tropical Africa to the Arctic Circle — almost double the length of the famous migrations undertaken by monarch. Spectacular large-scale migrations associated with the monsoon are seen in peninsular India. Migrations have been studied in more recent times using wing tags and also using stable hydrogen isotopes . Butterflies navigate using
1820-412: A segmented palp. Adjoining these is the labium-hypopharynx which houses a tubular spinneret which is able to extrude silk. Caterpillars such as those in the genus Calpodes (family Hesperiidae) have a specialized tracheal system on the 8th segment that function as a primitive lung. Butterfly caterpillars have three pairs of true legs on the thoracic segments and up to six pairs of prolegs arising from
1911-435: A silken girdle may be spun to keep the pupa in a head-up position. Most of the tissues and cells of the larva are broken down inside the pupa, as the constituent material is rebuilt into the imago. The structure of the transforming insect is visible from the exterior, with the wings folded flat on the ventral surface and the two halves of the proboscis, with the antennae and the legs between them. The pupal transformation into
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#17328906834522002-665: A single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle. Butterflies are often polymorphic , and many species make use of camouflage , mimicry , and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady , migrate over long distances. Many butterflies are attacked by parasites or parasitoids , including wasps , protozoans , flies , and other invertebrates, or are preyed upon by other organisms. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants. Larvae of
2093-410: A time-compensated sun compass. They can see polarized light and therefore orient even in cloudy conditions. The polarized light near the ultraviolet spectrum appears to be particularly important. Many migratory butterflies live in semi-arid areas where breeding seasons are short. The life histories of their host plants also influence butterfly behaviour. Butterflies in their adult stage can live from
2184-528: A total of about 20,000 species. Traditionally, butterflies have been divided into the superfamilies Papilionoidea and the moth-like Hedyloidea . Recent work has discovered that Hedylidae, the only family within Hedyloidea, is nested within the Papilionoidea, meaning that Papilionoidea would be synonymous with Rhopalocera. The relationships between the rest of the 6 families are extremely well resolved, which
2275-470: A trend towards multivoltinism . Courtship is often aerial and often involves pheromones . Butterflies then land on the ground or on a perch to mate. Copulation takes place tail-to-tail and may last from minutes to hours. Simple photoreceptor cells located at the genitals are important for this and other adult behaviours. The male passes a spermatophore to the female; to reduce sperm competition, he may cover her with his scent, or in some species such as
2366-486: A tubular proboscis which is curled up at rest and expanded when needed to feed. The first and second maxillae bear palps which function as sensory organs. Some species have a reduced proboscis or maxillary palps and do not feed as adults. Many Heliconius butterflies also use their proboscis to feed on pollen; in these species only 20% of the amino acids used in reproduction come from larval feeding, which allow them to develop more quickly as caterpillars, and gives them
2457-437: A water-insoluble, rubbery material which soon sets solid. Butterflies in the genus Agathymus do not fix their eggs to a leaf; instead, the newly laid eggs fall to the base of the plant. Eggs are almost invariably laid on plants. Each species of butterfly has its own host plant range and while some species of butterfly are restricted to just one species of plant, others use a range of plant species, often including members of
2548-422: A week to nearly a year depending on the species. Many species have long larval life stages while others can remain dormant in their pupal or egg stages and thereby survive winters. The Melissa Arctic ( Oeneis melissa ) overwinters twice as a caterpillar. Butterflies may have one or more broods per year. The number of generations per year varies from temperate to tropical regions with tropical regions showing
2639-450: Is above 27 °C (81 °F); when it is cool, they can position themselves to expose the underside of the wings to the sunlight to heat themselves up. If their body temperature reaches 40 °C (104 °F), they can orientate themselves with the folded wings edgewise to the sun. Basking is an activity which is more common in the cooler hours of the morning. Some species have evolved dark wingbases to help in gathering more heat and this
2730-458: Is derived from tiny structures called scales, each of which have their own pigments . In Heliconius butterflies, there are three types of scales: yellow/white, black, and red/orange/brown scales. Some mechanism of wing pattern formation are now being solved using genetic techniques. For instance, a gene called cortex determines the colour of scales: deleting cortex turned black and red scales yellow. Mutations, e.g. transposon insertions of
2821-403: Is especially evident in alpine forms. As in many other insects, the lift generated by butterflies is more than can be accounted for by steady-state, non-transitory aerodynamics . Studies using Vanessa atalanta in a wind tunnel show that they use a wide variety of aerodynamic mechanisms to generate force. These include wake capture , vortices at the wing edge, rotational mechanisms and
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2912-410: Is extruded and inserted into the female's vagina. A spermatophore is deposited in the female, following which the sperm make their way to a seminal receptacle where they are stored for later use. In both sexes, the genitalia are adorned with various spines, teeth, scales and bristles, which act to prevent the butterfly from mating with an insect of another species. After it emerges from its pupal stage,
3003-696: Is generalized beyond bacteria by Yamada et al. 2015's demonstration that undernourished Drosophila are heavily dependent on their fungal symbiont Issatchenkia orientalis for amino acids. Mutualisms are not static, and can be lost by evolution. Sachs and Simms (2006) suggest that this can occur via four main pathways: There are many examples of mutualism breakdown. For example, plant lineages inhabiting nutrient-rich environments have evolutionarily abandoned mycorrhizal mutualisms many times independently. Evolutionarily, headlice may have been mutualistic as they allow for early immunity to various body-louse borne disease; however, as these diseases became eradicated,
3094-451: Is good, especially in some species in the blue/violet range. The antennae are composed of many segments and have clubbed tips (unlike moths that have tapering or feathery antennae). The sensory receptors are concentrated in the tips and can detect odours. Taste receptors are located on the palps and on the feet. The mouthparts are adapted to sucking and the mandibles are usually reduced in size or absent. The first maxillae are elongated into
3185-453: Is most effectively applied to free-living species that encounter a number of individuals of the mutualist part in the course of their existences. Wright notes that models of biological mutualism tend to be similar qualitatively, in that the featured isoclines generally have a positive decreasing slope, and by and large similar isocline diagrams. Mutualistic interactions are best visualized as positively sloped isoclines, which can be explained by
3276-563: Is native to the Americas, but in the nineteenth century or before, spread across the world, and is now found in Australia, New Zealand, other parts of Oceania, and the Iberian Peninsula . It is not clear how it dispersed; adults may have been blown by the wind or larvae or pupae may have been accidentally transported by humans, but the presence of suitable host plants in their new environment was
3367-461: Is of particular importance due to its relict nature and uncertain relationship to other subfamilies such as the Parnassiinae . It is now considered to represent the monotypic subfamily Baroniinae . The butterfly was considered as the most primitive extant papilionid taxon and shares some features with the fossil genus Praepapilio , and a comprehensive 2018 molecular phylogeny suggests that they are
3458-465: Is restricted to the males, and studies have suggested that the nutrients collected may be provided as a nuptial gift , along with the spermatophore, during mating. In hilltopping , males of some species seek hilltops and ridge tops, which they patrol in search for females. Since it usually occurs in species with low population density, it is assumed these landscape points are used as meeting places to find mates. Butterflies use their antennae to sense
3549-692: Is summarized in the below cladogram. Papilionidae [REDACTED] Hedylidae [REDACTED] Hesperiidae [REDACTED] Pieridae [REDACTED] Nymphalidae [REDACTED] Lycaenidae [REDACTED] Riodinidae [REDACTED] Butterfly adults are characterized by their four scale-covered wings, which give the Lepidoptera their name ( Ancient Greek λεπίς lepís, scale + πτερόν pterón, wing). These scales give butterfly wings their colour: they are pigmented with melanins that give them blacks and browns, as well as uric acid derivatives and flavones that give them yellows, but many of
3640-405: Is taken up by the gut, but there may also be large silk glands, and special glands which secrete distasteful or toxic substances. The developing wings are present in later stage instars and the gonads start development in the egg stage. When the larva is fully grown, hormones such as prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) are produced. At this point the larva stops feeding, and begins "wandering" in
3731-416: Is the dispersal of the seeds of plants by animals. This is similar to pollination in that the plant produces food resources (for example, fleshy fruit, overabundance of seeds) for animals that disperse the seeds (service). Plants may advertise these resources using colour and a variety of other fruit characteristics, e.g., scent. Fruit of the aardvark cucumber (Cucumis humifructus) is buried so deeply that
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3822-402: Is the relationship between sea anemones and anemone fish in the family Pomacentridae : the anemones provide the fish with protection from predators (which cannot tolerate the stings of the anemone's tentacles) and the fish defend the anemones against butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae ), which eat anemones. However, in common with many mutualisms, there is more than one aspect to it: in
3913-599: The Hirtella sp. tree in the same forests, but in this relationship, the tree has turned the tables on the ants. When the tree is ready to produce flowers, the ant abodes on certain branches begin to wither and shrink, forcing the occupants to flee, leaving the tree's flowers to develop free from ant attack. The term "species group" can be used to describe the manner in which individual organisms group together. In this non-taxonomic context one can refer to "same-species groups" and "mixed-species groups." While same-species groups are
4004-539: The Acacia plant. In the neotropics , the ant Myrmelachista schumanni makes its nest in special cavities in Duroia hirsute . Plants in the vicinity that belong to other species are killed with formic acid . This selective gardening can be so aggressive that small areas of the rainforest are dominated by Duroia hirsute . These peculiar patches are known by local people as " devil's gardens ". In some of these relationships,
4095-473: The Lycaenidae , form mutual associations with ants. They communicate with the ants using vibrations that are transmitted through the substrate as well as using chemical signals. The ants provide some degree of protection to these larvae and they in turn gather honeydew secretions . Large blue ( Phengaris arion ) caterpillars trick Myrmica ants into taking them back to the ant colony where they feed on
4186-469: The Weis-Fogh ' clap-and-fling ' mechanism. Butterflies are able to change from one mode to another rapidly. Butterflies are threatened in their early stages by parasitoids and in all stages by predators, diseases and environmental factors. Braconid and other parasitic wasps lay their eggs in lepidopteran eggs or larvae and the wasps' parasitoid larvae devour their hosts, usually pupating inside or outside
4277-452: The ZW sex-determination system where females are the heterogametic sex (ZW) and males homogametic (ZZ). Butterflies are distributed worldwide except Antarctica, totalling some 18,500 species. Of these, 775 are Nearctic ; 7,700 Neotropical ; 1,575 Palearctic ; 3,650 Afrotropical ; and 4,800 are distributed across the combined Oriental and Australian / Oceania regions. The monarch butterfly
4368-600: The non-coding DNA around the cortex gene can turn a black-winged butterfly into a butterfly with a yellow wing band. When the butterfly Bicyclus anynana is subjected to repeated inbreeding in the laboratory, there is a dramatic decrease in egg hatching. This severe inbreeding depression is considered to be likely due to a relatively high mutation rate to recessive alleles with substantial damaging effects and infrequent episodes of inbreeding in nature that might otherwise purge such mutations. Although B. anynana experiences inbreeding depression when forcibly inbred in
4459-535: The Apollos ( Parnassius ) plugs her genital opening to prevent her from mating again. The vast majority of butterflies have a four-stage life cycle: egg , larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and imago (adult). In the genera Colias , Erebia , Euchloe , and Parnassius , a small number of species are known that reproduce semi-parthenogenetically ; when the female dies, a partially developed larva emerges from her abdomen. Butterfly eggs are protected by
4550-430: The abdomen, generally with short prolegs on segments 3–6 and 10; the three pairs of true legs on the thorax have five segments each. Many are well camouflaged; others are aposematic with bright colours and bristly projections containing toxic chemicals obtained from their food plants. The pupa or chrysalis, unlike that of moths, is not wrapped in a cocoon. Many butterflies are sexually dimorphic . Most butterflies have
4641-405: The abdominal segments. These prolegs have rings of tiny hooks called crochets that are engaged hydrostatically and help the caterpillar grip the substrate. The epidermis bears tufts of setae , the position and number of which help in identifying the species. There is also decoration in the form of hairs, wart-like protuberances, horn-like protuberances and spines. Internally, most of the body cavity
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#17328906834524732-502: The adult colour pattern are marked by changes in the expression of particular transcription factors in the early pupa. The reproductive stage of the insect is the winged adult or imago . The surface of both butterflies and moths is covered by scales, each of which is an outgrowth from a single epidermal cell. The head is small and dominated by the two large compound eyes . These are capable of distinguishing flower shapes or motion but cannot view distant objects clearly. Colour perception
4823-467: The air for wind and scents. The antennae come in various shapes and colours; the hesperiids have a pointed angle or hook to the antennae, while most other families show knobbed antennae. The antennae are richly covered with sensory organs known as sensillae . A butterfly's sense of taste is coordinated by chemoreceptors on the tarsi , or feet, which work only on contact, and are used to determine whether an egg-laying insect's offspring will be able to feed on
4914-447: The anemonefish-anemone mutualism, waste ammonia from the fish feeds the symbiotic algae that are found in the anemone's tentacles. Therefore, what appears to be a service-service mutualism in fact has a service-resource component. A second example is that of the relationship between some ants in the genus Pseudomyrmex and trees in the genus Acacia , such as the whistling thorn and bullhorn acacia . The ants nest inside
5005-434: The ant eggs and larvae in a parasitic relationship. Caterpillars mature through a series of developmental stages known as instars . Near the end of each stage, the larva undergoes a process called apolysis , mediated by the release of a series of neurohormones . During this phase, the cuticle , a tough outer layer made of a mixture of chitin and specialized proteins , is released from the softer epidermis beneath, and
5096-658: The blues, greens, reds and iridescent colours are created by structural coloration produced by the micro-structures of the scales and hairs. As in all insects, the body is divided into three sections: the head, thorax , and abdomen . The thorax is composed of three segments, each with a pair of legs. In most families of butterfly the antennae are clubbed, unlike those of moths which may be threadlike or feathery. The long proboscis can be coiled when not in use for sipping nectar from flowers. Nearly all butterflies are diurnal , have relatively bright colours, and hold their wings vertically above their bodies when at rest, unlike
5187-550: The consequences of this network structure for the stability of pollinator communities suggest that the specific way in which plant-pollinator networks are organized minimizes competition between pollinators, reduce the spread of indirect effects and thus enhance ecosystem stability and may even lead to strong indirect facilitation between pollinators when conditions are harsh. This means that pollinator species together can survive under harsh conditions. But it also means that pollinator species collapse simultaneously when conditions pass
5278-484: The cost of the ant's protection can be quite expensive. Cordia sp. trees in the Amazonian rainforest have a kind of partnership with Allomerus sp. ants, which make their nests in modified leaves. To increase the amount of living space available, the ants will destroy the tree's flower buds. The flowers die and leaves develop instead, providing the ants with more dwellings. Another type of Allomerus sp. ant lives with
5369-441: The desiccated husk. Most wasps are very specific about their host species and some have been used as biological controls of pest butterflies like the large white butterfly . When the small cabbage white was accidentally introduced to New Zealand, it had no natural enemies. In order to control it, some pupae that had been parasitised by a chalcid wasp were imported, and natural control was thus regained. Some flies lay their eggs on
5460-419: The epidermis begins to form a new cuticle. At the end of each instar, the larva moults , the old cuticle splits and the new cuticle expands, rapidly hardening and developing pigment. Development of butterfly wing patterns begins by the last larval instar. Caterpillars have short antennae and several simple eyes . The mouthparts are adapted for chewing with powerful mandibles and a pair of maxillae, each with
5551-552: The expense of the other. However, mutualism may evolve from interactions that began with imbalanced benefits, such as parasitism . The term mutualism was introduced by Pierre-Joseph van Beneden in his 1876 book Animal Parasites and Messmates to mean "mutual aid among species". Mutualism is often conflated with two other types of ecological phenomena: cooperation and symbiosis . Cooperation most commonly refers to increases in fitness through within-species (intraspecific) interactions, although it has been used (especially in
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#17328906834525642-412: The fact that the saturation of benefits accorded to mutualism or restrictions posed by outside factors contribute to a decreasing slope. The type II functional response is visualized as the graph of b a M 1 + a T H M {\displaystyle {\cfrac {baM}{1+aT_{H}M}}} vs. M . Mutualistic networks made up out of
5733-710: The family Hesperiidae (skippers). Molecular clock estimates suggest that butterflies originated sometime in the Late Cretaceous , but only significantly diversified during the Cenozoic, with one study suggesting a North American origin for the group. The oldest American butterfly is the Late Eocene Prodryas persephone from the Florissant Fossil Beds , approximately 34 million years old. Butterflies are divided into seven families that contain
5824-465: The first specimen in the Sierra Madre region of Mexico. The species was then described by Salvin. Morphological characteristics include an abdominal scent organ in females. Baronia is unique among swallowtail butterflies or their relatives in having an Acacia species, Vachellia campeachiana (synonym Acacia cochliacantha , family Leguminosae ) as its larval food plant. Baronia brevicornis
5915-403: The food plant on which their larvae , known as caterpillars , will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis . When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have
6006-409: The friction of their overlapping parts. The front two segments have a pair of spiracles which are used in respiration. The abdomen consists of ten segments and contains the gut and genital organs. The front eight segments have spiracles and the terminal segment is modified for reproduction. The male has a pair of clasping organs attached to a ring structure, and during copulation, a tubular structure
6097-566: The function of distal organs and systems. Breakdown of the protective mucosal barrier of the gut can contribute to the development of colon cancer . Every generation of every organism needs nutrients – and similar nutrients – more than they need particular defensive characteristics, as the fitness benefit of these vary heavily especially by environment. This may be the reason that hosts are more likely to evolve to become dependent on vertically transmitted bacterial mutualists which provide nutrients than those providing defensive benefits. This pattern
6188-544: The grass was growing. The earliest Lepidoptera fossils date to the Triassic - Jurassic boundary, around 200 million years ago. Butterflies evolved from moths, so while the butterflies are monophyletic (forming a single clade ), the moths are not. The oldest known butterfly is Protocoeliades kristenseni from the Palaeocene aged Fur Formation of Denmark, approximately 55 million years old, which belongs to
6279-408: The gut population. The mucous layer of the intestine contains commensal bacteria that produce bacteriocins , modify the pH of the intestinal contents, and compete for nutrition to inhibit colonization by pathogens. The gut microbiota, containing trillions of microorganisms , possesses the metabolic capacity to produce and regulate multiple compounds that reach the circulation and act to influence
6370-627: The improvement needed to return to conditions at which the pollinator community collapsed. Humans are involved in mutualisms with other species: their gut flora is essential for efficient digestion . Infestations of head lice might have been beneficial for humans by fostering an immune response that helps to reduce the threat of body louse borne lethal diseases. Some relationships between humans and domesticated animals and plants are to different degrees mutualistic. For example, agricultural varieties of maize provide food for humans and are unable to reproduce without human intervention because
6461-415: The interaction between plants and pollinators were found to have a similar structure in very different ecosystems on different continents, consisting of entirely different species. The structure of these mutualistic networks may have large consequences for the way in which pollinator communities respond to increasingly harsh conditions and on the community carrying capacity. Mathematical models that examine
6552-1030: The laboratory it recovers within a few generation when allowed to breed freely. During mate selection, adult females do not innately avoid or learn to avoid siblings, implying that such detection may not be critical to reproductive fitness. Inbreeding may persist in B anynana because the probability of encountering close relatives is rare in nature; that is, movement ecology may mask the deleterious effect of inbreeding resulting in relaxation of selection for active inbreeding avoidance behaviors. Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. Some also derive nourishment from pollen , tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, decaying flesh, and dissolved minerals in wet sand or dirt. Butterflies are important as pollinators for some species of plants. In general, they do not carry as much pollen load as bees , but they are capable of moving pollen over greater distances. Flower constancy has been observed for at least one species of butterfly. Adult butterflies consume only liquids, ingested through
6643-400: The leafy sheath does not fall open, and the seedhead (the "corn on the cob") does not shatter to scatter the seeds naturally. In traditional agriculture , some plants have mutualist as companion plants , providing each other with shelter, soil fertility and/or natural pest control . For example, beans may grow up cornstalks as a trellis, while fixing nitrogen in the soil for the corn,
6734-506: The majority of moths which fly by night, are often cryptically coloured (well camouflaged), and either hold their wings flat (touching the surface on which the moth is standing) or fold them closely over their bodies. Some day-flying moths, such as the hummingbird hawk-moth , are exceptions to these rules. Butterfly larvae , caterpillars , have a hard ( sclerotised ) head with strong mandibles used for cutting their food, most often leaves. They have cylindrical bodies, with ten segments to
6825-401: The name is ancient, but modern Dutch and German use different words ( vlinder and Schmetterling ) and the common name often varies substantially between otherwise closely related languages. A possible source of the name is the bright yellow male of the brimstone ( Gonepteryx rhamni ); another is that butterflies were on the wing in meadows during the spring and summer butter season while
6916-538: The norm, examples of mixed-species groups abound. For example, zebra ( Equus burchelli ) and wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus ) can remain in association during periods of long distance migration across the Serengeti as a strategy for thwarting predators. Cercopithecus mitis and Cercopithecus ascanius , species of monkey in the Kakamega Forest of Kenya , can stay in close proximity and travel along exactly
7007-641: The outside of caterpillars and the newly hatched fly larvae bore their way through the skin and feed in a similar way to the parasitoid wasp larvae. Predators of butterflies include ants, spiders, wasps, and birds. Mutualism (biology) Mutualism describes the ecological interaction between two or more species where each species has a net benefit. Mutualism is a common type of ecological interaction. Prominent examples are: Mutualism can be contrasted with interspecific competition , in which each species experiences reduced fitness, and exploitation , and with parasitism , in which one species benefits at
7098-410: The past) to refer to mutualistic interactions, and it is sometimes used to refer to mutualistic interactions that are not obligate. Symbiosis involves two species living in close physical contact over a long period of their existence and may be mutualistic, parasitic , or commensal , so symbiotic relationships are not always mutualistic, and mutualistic interactions are not always symbiotic. Despite
7189-545: The plant is solely reliant upon the aardvark's keen sense of smell to detect its ripened fruit, extract, consume and then scatter its seeds; C. humifructus's geographical range is thus restricted to that of the aardvark's. Another type is ant protection of aphids , where the aphids trade sugar -rich honeydew (a by-product of their mode of feeding on plant sap ) in return for defense against predators such as ladybugs . Strict service-service interactions are very rare, for reasons that are far from clear. One example
7280-553: The plant providing carbohydrates to the fungus in return for primarily phosphate but also nitrogenous compounds. Other examples include rhizobia bacteria that fix nitrogen for leguminous plants (family Fabaceae) in return for energy-containing carbohydrates . Metabolite exchange between multiple mutualistic species of bacteria has also been observed in a process known as cross-feeding . Service-resource relationships are common. Three important types are pollination , cleaning symbiosis, and zoochory . In pollination ,
7371-466: The plant's thorns. In exchange for shelter, the ants protect acacias from attack by herbivores (which they frequently eat when those are small enough, introducing a resource component to this service-service relationship) and competition from other plants by trimming back vegetation that would shade the acacia. In addition, another service-resource component is present, as the ants regularly feed on lipid -rich food-bodies called Beltian bodies that are on
7462-500: The plants, and allow for successful fertilization of plants, demonstrating a mutualistic relationship between two seemingly-unlike species. Mutualism has also been linked to major evolutionary events, such as the evolution of the eukaryotic cell ( symbiogenesis ) and the colonization of land by plants in association with mycorrhizal fungi. Mutualistic relationships can be thought of as a form of " biological barter" in mycorrhizal associations between plant roots and fungi , with
7553-529: The proboscis. They sip water from damp patches for hydration and feed on nectar from flowers, from which they obtain sugars for energy, and sodium and other minerals vital for reproduction. Several species of butterflies need more sodium than that provided by nectar and are attracted by sodium in salt; they sometimes land on people, attracted by the salt in human sweat. Some butterflies also visit dung and scavenge rotting fruit or carcasses to obtain minerals and nutrients. In many species, this mud-puddling behaviour
7644-431: The quest for a suitable pupation site, often the underside of a leaf or other concealed location. There it spins a button of silk which it uses to fasten its body to the surface and moults for a final time. While some caterpillars spin a cocoon to protect the pupa, most species do not. The naked pupa, often known as a chrysalis, usually hangs head down from the cremaster, a spiny pad at the posterior end, but in some species
7735-491: The relationship has become less mutualistic and more parasitic. Measuring the exact fitness benefit to the individuals in a mutualistic relationship is not always straightforward, particularly when the individuals can receive benefits from a variety of species, for example most plant- pollinator mutualisms. It is therefore common to categorise mutualisms according to the closeness of the association, using terms such as obligate and facultative . Defining "closeness", however,
7826-463: The same routes through the forest for periods of up to 12 hours. These mixed-species groups cannot be explained by the coincidence of sharing the same habitat. Rather, they are created by the active behavioural choice of at least one of the species in question. Mathematical treatments of mutualisms, like the study of mutualisms in general, have lagged behind those for predation , or predator-prey, consumer-resource, interactions. In models of mutualisms,
7917-463: The sister group of the remainder of the Papilionidae. Illustrated works: This article related to members of the insect order Lepidoptera is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran suborder Rhopalocera , characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and
8008-428: The size of parameter α, species densities would increase indefinitely. Because that is not possible due to environmental constraints and carrying capacity, a model that includes saturation would be more accurate. Wright's mathematical theory is based on the premise of a simple two-species mutualism model in which the benefits of mutualism become saturated due to limits posed by handling time. Wright defines handling time as
8099-472: The terms "type I" and "type II" functional responses refer to the linear and saturating relationships, respectively, between the benefit provided to an individual of species 1 ( dependent variable ) and the density of species 2 (independent variable). One of the simplest frameworks for modeling species interactions is the Lotka–Volterra equations . In this model, the changes in population densities of
8190-551: The time needed to process a food item, from the initial interaction to the start of a search for new food items and assumes that processing of food and searching for food are mutually exclusive. Mutualists that display foraging behavior are exposed to the restrictions on handling time. Mutualism can be associated with symbiosis. In 1959, C. S. Holling performed his classic disc experiment that assumed that where The equation that incorporates Type II functional response and mutualism is: where or, equivalently, where This model
8281-458: The two mutualists are quantified as: where Mutualism is in essence the logistic growth equation modified for mutualistic interaction. The mutualistic interaction term represents the increase in population growth of one species as a result of the presence of greater numbers of another species. As the mutualistic interactive term β is always positive, this simple model may lead to unrealistic unbounded growth. So it may be more realistic to include
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