1 Modern Threats to the Lepidoptera Fauna in The
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MODERN THREATS TO THE LEPIDOPTERA FAUNA IN THE FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM By THOMSON PARIS A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 2011 Thomson Paris 2 To my mother and father who helped foster my love for butterflies 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I thank my family who have provided advice, support, and encouragement throughout this project. I especially thank my sister and brother for helping to feed and label larvae throughout the summer. Second, I thank Hillary Burgess and Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Dr. Jonathan Crane and the University of Florida Tropical Research and Education center Homestead, FL, Elizabeth Golden and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, Leroy Rogers and South Florida Water Management, Marshall and Keith at Mack’s Fish Camp, Susan Casey and Casey’s Corner Nursery, and Michael and EWM Realtors Inc. for giving me access to collect larvae on their land and for their advice and assistance. Third, I thank Ryan Fessendon and Lary Reeves for helping to locate sites to collect larvae and for assisting me to collect larvae. I thank Dr. Marc Minno, Dr. Roxanne Connely, Dr. Charles Covell, Dr. Jaret Daniels for sharing their knowledge, advice, and ideas concerning this project. Fourth, I thank my committee, which included Drs. Thomas Emmel and James Nation, who provided guidance and encouragement throughout my project. Finally, I am grateful to the Chair of my committee and my major advisor, Dr. Andrei Sourakov, for his invaluable counsel, and for serving as a model of excellence of what it means to be a scientist. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................8 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................9 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................14 Threats to the Florida Ecosystem ...........................................................................................14 Project Objectives ...................................................................................................................15 2 INVASIVE FIRE ANTS, SOLENOPSIS INVICTA AND NATIVE PLANTS IN FLORIDA ...............................................................................................................................16 Invasive Fire Ants ...................................................................................................................16 Exotic Plants ...........................................................................................................................19 3 PARASITOIDS OF LEPIDOPTERA PARASITOIDS AND THEIR EFFECT ON NATIVE POPULATIONS IN FLORIDA..............................................................................21 Biological Control Agents ......................................................................................................21 Biological Control ...........................................................................................................21 Diptera: Tachinidae .........................................................................................................22 Objective ..........................................................................................................................23 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................23 Natural History and Natural Enemies of Non-Target Species ........................................23 Natural History of Lepidoptera Species Surveyed for Parasitoidism in Florida in 2009-2010. ...................................................................................................................24 Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) .............24 Zebra Longwing, Heliconius charithonia (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). ......................................................................................................26 Long-Tailed Skipper, Urbanus proteus (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) .....28 Dorantes Longtail. Urbanus dorantes (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)...............30 Monarch, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) ......................31 Fall Webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) ........................36 Eastern tent caterpillar, Malacosoma americanum (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) .....................................................................................................40 Parasitoid Checklists for Six Additional Lepidoptera Hosts Collected During Survey ..........................................................................................................................43 5 Tawny emperor, Asterocampa clyton (Boisduval & Leconte) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) .......................................................................................................43 Polydamas Swallowtail, Battus polydamas lucayus (Rothschild & Jordan) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) ..................................................................................44 Mourning Cloak, Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus) Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae .........44 Brazilian Skipper, Calpodes ethlius (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) ..................45 White-Marked Tussock Moth, Orgyia leucostigma (JE Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) .............................................................................................................46 Survey Protocol ......................................................................................................................47 Collecting Localities ........................................................................................................47 Collecting and Rearing ....................................................................................................47 Specimen Preservation and Identification .......................................................................48 Photography .....................................................................................................................49 Results and Discussion ...........................................................................................................49 4 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOST-PARASITOID RELATIONSHIPS IN URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGS .....................................................................................................66 Urbanization and Parasitoidism ..............................................................................................66 The Effect of Urbanization on Biodiversity ....................................................................66 Hypotheses for the Effect of Urbanization on Parasitoidism rates ..................................67 Objective ..........................................................................................................................69 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................69 Habitat Types ...................................................................................................................69 Tropical hammock ....................................................................................................69 Pine flatwood ............................................................................................................69 Freshwater marshes ..................................................................................................70 Disturbed habitat ......................................................................................................70 Beaches .....................................................................................................................70 Mangrove .................................................................................................................71 Urban versus Rural Settings ............................................................................................71 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................71 Results.....................................................................................................................................73 Urban and Rural Settings .................................................................................................73 Parasitoidism Ratios in Rural Versus Urban Habitats .....................................................74 Gainesville, FL .........................................................................................................74 Miami, FL .................................................................................................................75 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................75 5 POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF PESTICIDES ON THE HOST-PARASITOID RELATIONSHIPS OF LEPIDOPTERA AND PARASITOIDS ...........................................96