Abstract
Adoption of novel host plants by herbivorous insects can require new adaptations and may entail loss of adaptation to ancestral hosts. We examined relationships between an endangered subspecies of the butterfly Euphydryas editha (Taylor's checkerspot) and three host plant species. Two of the hosts (Castilleja hispida, Castilleja levisecta) were used ancestrally while the other, Plantago lanceolata, is exotic and was adopted more recently. We measured oviposition preference, neonate preference, larval growth, and secondary chemical uptake on all three hosts. Adult females readily laid eggs on all hosts but favored Plantago and tended to avoid C. levisecta. Oviposition preference changed over time. Neonates had no preference among host species, but consistently chose bracts over leaves within both Castilleja species. Larvae developed successfully on all species and grew to similar size on all of them unless they ate only Castilleja leaves (rather than bracts) which limited their growth. Diet strongly influenced secondary chemical uptake by larvae. Larvae that ate Plantago or C. hispida leaves contained the highest concentrations of iridoid glycosides, and iridoid glycoside composition varied with host species and tissue type. Despite having largely switched to a novel exotic host and generally performing better on it, this population has retained breadth in preference and ability to use other hosts.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Adult females laid eggs on all hosts but favored Plantago.
- Interactor
- Euphydryas editha
Euphydryas edithae1herbivore - Outcome
- favored Plantagoe0
PlantagoOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Adult females readily laid eggs on all hosts but favored Plantago and tended to avoid C. levisecta.”
e1“Euphydryas editha (Taylor's checkerspot)”
Claim · model-written summary
Adult females tended to avoid C. levisecta for oviposition.
- Taxon
- C. levisecta
Castilleja levisectae0 - Outcome
- tended to avoid C. levisectae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Adult females readily laid eggs on all hosts but favored Plantago and tended to avoid C. levisecta.”
Claim · model-written summary
Butterfly oviposition preference changed over time.
Verbatim
e0“Oviposition preference changed over time.”
t0“host plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Neonates had no preference among host species.
Verbatim
e0“Neonates had no preference among host species”
t0“host plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Neonates chose bracts over leaves in both Castilleja species.
- Taxon
- Castilleja species
Castillejae0 - Organ / stage
- bractse0
- Outcome
- chose bracts over leavese0
- Comparator
- leavese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“consistently chose bracts over leaves within both Castilleja species.”
Claim · model-written summary
Larvae developed successfully on all host species.
Verbatim
e0“Larvae developed successfully on all species and grew to similar size on all of them unless they ate only Castilleja leaves (rather than bracts) which limited their growth.”
t0“host plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Larvae reached similar size across hosts except on a Castilleja leaf-only diet.
- Taxon
- CastillejaCastillejae0
- Organ / stage
- leavese0
- Outcome
- similar sizee0
- Direction
- similar sizee0
- Qualifier
- unless they ate only Castilleja leavese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“grew to similar size on all of them unless they ate only Castilleja leaves (rather than bracts) which limited their growth.”
Claim · model-written summary
Castilleja leaves alone limited larval growth relative to bracts.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“they ate only Castilleja leaves (rather than bracts) which limited their growth.”
Claim · model-written summary
Larval diet strongly influenced secondary chemical uptake.
- Taxon
- host plantst0
- Interactor
- Euphydryas edithaEuphydryas edithae1herbivore
- Outcome
- secondary chemical uptake by larvaee0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Diet strongly influenced secondary chemical uptake by larvae.”
t0“host plants”
e1“Euphydryas editha (Taylor's checkerspot)”
Claim · model-written summary
Larvae eating Plantago leaves had among the highest iridoid glycoside concentrations.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Larvae that ate Plantago or C. hispida leaves contained the highest concentrations of iridoid glycosides”
Claim · model-written summary
Larvae eating C. hispida leaves had among the highest iridoid glycoside concentrations.
- Taxon
- C. hispida
Castilleja hispidae0 - Organ / stage
- leavese0
- Outcome
- concentrations of iridoid glycosidese0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Larvae that ate Plantago or C. hispida leaves contained the highest concentrations of iridoid glycosides”
Claim · model-written summary
Larval iridoid glycoside composition varied with host species and tissue type.
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“iridoid glycoside composition varied with host species and tissue type.”
t0“host plants”