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Maniola Jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the Wild (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, Heliconiinae

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Maniola Jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the Wild (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, Heliconiinae 166 Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N. F. 31 (3): 166–168 (2010) Three observation of interspecific mating attempts by males of the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)) in the wild (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, Heliconiinae) Lukáš Spitzer, Jiří Beneš, Pavel Vrba and Marek Zlatník Lukáš Spitzer, MSc., Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ­370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; [email protected]. — Department of Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ­370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. — Correspondence: Regional Museum Vsetin, Horní náměstí 2, CZ­755 01 Vsetín, Czech Republic. Jiří Beneš, Department of Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ­370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; [email protected]. Pavel Vrba, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ­370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic, [email protected]. — Department of Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, CZ­370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Marek Zlatník, Kollárova 116, CZ­506 01 Jičín, Czech Republic, [email protected]. Abstract: We report three observations of interspecific tions of pairings between representatives of different, mat ing events between males of Maniola jurtina (Nym­ and distantly related, families, such as between ♂ of the pha l idae: Satyrinae) and females of three butterfly species, arctiid moth Amata phegea (Linnaeus, 1758) and ♀ of Aphan topus hyperanthus and Erebia aethiops (both Nym­ Zygaena filipendulae pha l idae: Satyrinae) and Argynnis aglaja (Nymphalidae: the burnet moth (Linnaeus, 1758) He li co ni inae), all under natural conditions. While the pair­ (Novotný et al. 2009), or — again — ♀ Z. fi li pen du lae and ings with Satyrinae females happened lately in M. jurtina ♂ of the arctiid moth Tyria jacobaeae (Lin nae us, 1758) flight period, and could be attributed to mate recognition (Williams 1914, Tremewan 2005). These rare cases are mis takes, the pairing with A. aglaja was observed rela ti­ attributable to mate recognition mis takes, as the moths ve ly early in M. jurtina flight, and we speculate that males in question share diurnal habit and mimic each other re acted to supraoptimal visual stimulus. (A. phegea and Zygaena spp.), or dis play similar wing Key words: interspecific copulation, mate recognition mis­ colors (T. jacobaeae and Zygaena spp.). The rarest, and takes, Argynnis, Aphantopus, Erebia, Czech Republic. most difficult to interpret, are observ ations of in copula pairs among unrelated species differing in body size and Drei Fälle von interspezifischen Paarungsversuchen wing shape and patter n, such as that between ♂ Lycaena von Männchen von Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) helloides (Bois du val, 1852) and fresh ♀ Vanessa (= im Freiland (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae: Satyrinae, Heliconiinae) Cynthia) an na bel la (Field, 1971) (Shapiro 1973). Zusammenfassung: Drei Beobachtungen von inter spe zi fi­ Here, we report three observations of interspecific pair­ schen Paarungen zwischen Männchen von Maniola jurtina ings of the Meadow Brown ♂♂ (Maniola jurtina Lin naeus, (Nym pha l idae: Satyrinae) und Weibchen von drei ver­ 1758) with ♀♀ of three species of nymphalid but terflies, schie denen anderen Arten (Aphan topus hyperanthus und two rather related — Aphantopus hy per an thus (Linnaeus, Ere bia aethiops, beides ebenfalls Nymphalinae: Satyrinae, 1758) and Erebia aethiops (Esper, 1777) —, belonging to so wie Argynnis aglaja, Nymphalidae: He li co ni inae) wer­ den vorgestellt. Während die Paarungen mit den Sa ty ri nen­ the subfamily Satyrinae just like M. jur tina itself, and one weib chen spät in der Flugzeit von M. jurtina statt fan den rather unrelated species of the sub family Heliconiinae — und als Fehler in der Arterkennung der Männchen mangels Argynnis aglaja (Linnaeus, 1758). All three observations arteigener Weibchen interpretiert werden kön nen, fanden originated from the Czech Republic, year 2009. die Paarungen mit Argynnis aglaja zu Beginn der Flugzeit von M. jurtina statt, und wir vermuten, daß es dabei um überoptimale optische Anreize ging. Material • Moravia mer., Kudějov, Kamenný vrch reserve Introduction (7066, 48°57'58"N, 16°45'8"E), 330 m alt., 9. viii. 2009, 14:20 h CEST; ♂ Maniola jurtina & ♀ Aphan- Although hybridisation between butterflies occurs to pus hyperanthus, Marek Zlatník observ. et det., Jiří ra ther commonly in nature, as summarized by a recent Beneš revid. Observed for ca. 100 min, and not until review by Descimon & Mallet (2009), the mating termination. events are rather rarely observed and reported. Ob ser­ The habitat was a south­oriented calcareous grassland. va tions of in copula pairs seem to be more frequent Both species are abundant at the locality, but in the among phylogenetically and/or morphologically close ob ser vation day, in late season for both species, there spe cies, such as congeneric pairings between burnet were about 20 M. jurtina and 2 A. hyperanthus in di vi du­ moths (Zygaenidae) (e.g., Skala 1913, Janicke 1989, als present in close vicinity of the near mating pair, and Young et al. 2007), hairstreaks (Edmonds 1979), nym­ both the ♂ and the ♀ were quite heavily worn, pre sum­ pha lids (Greeney et al. 2006), swallowtails (Hereau & ably old, individuals (Fig. 1). Scriber 2003), apollo butterflies (Descimon et al. 1989, cf. Descimon & Mallet 2009), or among skippers (Hes­ • Bohemia mer., Studánky nr. Vyšší Brod (7451, peri idae) (Blanchemain 1999). Besides of these pair­ 48°35'42"N, 14°20'32"E), 670 m alt., 26. vii. 2009, ings among closely related species, there exist ob ser va­ 14:40 h CEST; ♂ Maniola jurtina & ♀ Erebia aethiops, © Entomologischer Verein Apollo e. V., Frankfurt am Main 167 Pavel Vrba observ. et det. Observed for ca. 10 min, the (much larger in A. aglaja), coloration (brown with rusty pair then flew away, still in copula. spots in M. jurtina, brightly reddish with black checker The habitat was a dry woodland mantle, with dozens in A. aglaja), and pearly pattern on ven tral hind wings M. jurtina individuals (both sexes) and three E. aethiops (never present in sub fa mi ly Sa tyr inae). individuals (2 ♂♂, 1 ♀). While the M. jurtina ♂ was quite Given the wing wears of observed individuals, and the worn, the E. aethiops ♀ appeared fresh (Fig. 2). general rule (e.g., Rutowski 1998) that butterfly ♂♂ maximize their fitness by preferential mating with fresh • Moravia or., Velké Karlovice, part Bzové (6675, ♀♀, whereas old or unmated ♀♀ may actively solicitate 49°22'16"N, 18°15'47"E), 575 m alt., 12. vii. 2009, mating, we can speculate on circumstances of the three 14:20 h CEST; ♂ Maniola jurtina & ♀ Argynnis aglaja, mistakes. Jiří Beneš & Lukáš Spitzer observ. et det. Observed for ca. 15 min. The first Satyrinae case was observed rather lately in M. jurtina ♂♂ flight period, which usually begins in late The habitat was south­oriented mountain pasture. June/early July, and very lately for an A. hyperanthus, The pairing took place under sunny weather, the pair whose flight usually begins earlier than that of M. jurtina al ternated sitting on vegetation with short flyovers, the (Beneš et al. 2002). It is hence possible that there were ♀ actively carried the pair. M. jurtina was abun dant not enough M. jurtina ♀♀ present, and in the same time, (hundreds of individuals), A. aglaja was present in dozens the worn A. hyperanthus ♀ could had been less inclined of individuals. Both individuals appeared rather fresh. to avoid mating, as old and/or unmated A. hyperanthus ♀♀ are known to actively solicit copulation (Wiklund Discussion and conclusion 1982). The pairing with E. aethiops ♀ also occurred lately We observed 3 ♂♂ of M. jurtina pairing with ♀♀ of 3 in M. jurtina flight, when there was possible shortage of dif ferent species of the family Nymphalidae. The pair­ receptive M. jurtina ♀♀. The mating with A. aglaja ♀ is ings with same­subfamily ♀♀, A. hyperanthus and E. somehow more intriguing. Receptive A. aglaja ♀♀ wait ae thiops, are attributable to simple mate­recognition mis­ for patrolling ♂♂ hidden in vegetation (Zimmermann takes (Descimon & Mallet 2009), as both A. hy per an thus et al. 2009). Speculatively, the M. jurtina ♂ could have and E. aethiops ♀♀ are visually quite similar to ♀♀ of M. responded to such a ♀ as to supernormal stimulus, a jurtina. ♂♂ of M. jurtina seek for ♀♀ by slow patrol ling reaction which is well established in many taxa (e.g., Krebs & Davies 1997), but rarely considered in butterflies flights over herbaceous vegetation, pre sumably us ing (e.g., Tin ber gen et al. 1942). visual orientation. In addition, both sexes usually show aggregated behavior, which facilitates meeting of sexes (Brakefield 1982). The pairing with A. aglaja (sub fa­ Acknowledgements mi ly Heliconiinae) is more intriguing, as the two spe cies Wed thank Martin Konvička for text corrections, and are phylogenetically distant, and A. aglaja dif fers from acknowledge financial support by the Czech Ministry of M. jurtina slightly in forewing length (M. jur ti na: 23–26 Education (MSM 6007665801, LC6073) and Czech Union mm, A. aglaja: 23–32 mm) but considerably in wing area for Nature Conservation (01010608). 1 2 Fig. 1: Photograph of M. jurtina with A. hyperanthus copulation. Fig. 2: Photograph of M. jurtina with E. aethiops copulation. © Entomologischer Verein Apollo e. V., Frankfurt am Main 168 References Novotný, D., Beneš, J., & Konvička, M. (2009): Repeated ob ser va tion of interfamilial “mating” between males of arctiid moth Amata Beneš, J., Konvička, M., Dvořák, J., Fric, Z., Havelda, Z., Pav líč ko, phegea and females of the burnet moth Zy gae na filipendulae A., Vrabec, V., & Z. Wiedenhoffer [eds.] (2002): But ter flies of the Czech Republic: Distribution and conser va tion I, II. — Praha (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae and Zy gae n idae). — Nachrichten des (SOM), 857 pp. [in Czech with English sum ma ry].
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