Annual Review & Research in Biology 3(1): 22-30, 2013 SCIENCEDOMAIN international www.sciencedomain.org Early Stages and Natural History of Mimoides pausanias prasinus and M. euryleon clusoculis (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) from Costa Rica Luis Ricardo Murillo-Hiller1* 1Zoocriadero de Mariposas, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060, San José, Costa Rica. Author’s contribution Author LRMH did all research works for this paper. Received 25th October 2012 st Research Article Accepted 1 January 2013 Published 6th February 2013 ABSTRACT An extensive search for larvae was carried out in the lowland Caribbean side of Costa Rica in 2006 and 2007 to find valuable taxonomic information concerning Mimoides swallowtails. Females of Mimoides pausanias prasinus were observed laying eggs on a tree of Annona amazonica R. E. Fr. and Mimoides euryleon clusoculis on a tree of Rollinia pittieri Saff. The live material was reared at the Insect Museum of the University of Costa Rica on their respective host-plant. Both species share very similar color patterns on larvae and pupal shape. M. pausanias lasted 48 days from egg oviposition to adult emerging while M. euryleon lasted 51 days. Keywords: Mullerian mimicry; batesian mimicry; taxonomy; M. phaon; M. microdamas; Annonaceae; Parides; Heliconius; Battus. 1. INTRODUCTION The genus Mimoides Brown [1] is a neotropical group of butterflies comprised of eleven species [2]. All of them are characterized by short antennae, hairy bodies and mimetic coloration. Most of them resemble unpalatable species in the genera Parides (several ____________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: [email protected]; Annual Review & Research in Biology, 3(1): 22-30, 2013 species), Battus (M. phaon and M. microdamas) and Heliconius (M. pausanias). They are believed to be palatable to predators and protected by batesian mimicry, by resembling coloration and behavior of their models [3]. Mimoides show very distinctive morphological and ethological characteristics, which differentiate them from all others of the tribe Leptocircini. DeVries [3] mentioned the peculiar rotund form of their pupae and the bearing of fleshy tubercles on the larvae and Brown [1] erected the genus according to the same reasons. The adults also are differentiated by having round hind-wings and red spots on the body and wing bases [3]. All the host plants known for this genus are in the family Annonaceae, most commonly in the genus Annona but also in the genus Guatteria and Rollinia [4]. The host plants of M. pausanias has been reported by Lamas [6] as Annona and Rollinia, whereas González and Romero [7] mentioned Annonaceae. Tyler et al. [5] informs for M. p. pausanias Annona nr. muricata as host plant in Acre (Brazil) and also includes color pictures of all instars and pupae. For Mimoides euryleon clusoculis DeVries [3] presented a brief description of the early stages and a drawing of its pupa, indicating Annona glabra and Guatteria oliviformis as host plants. For the same species Tyler et al. [5] reported Annona sp. and Constantino [8] reported Annona squamosa in Colombia. Janzen and Hallwachs [9] presented pictures of third and fifth instar larvae and pupae, feeding on Rollinia membranacea from Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The eggs of Mimoides are greenish, with a round shape and smooth chorion, as seen on pictures presented by Tyler et al. [5]. The caterpillars present two different shapes: one bearing fleshy tubercles which mimic Parides [3,5], and the other smooth with bright yellow and bluish white lines and spots, as seen on pictures presented by Tyler et al. [5]. In Costa Rica Mimoides can be found from the sea level to 1600 m on both slopes. Of the three species present in Costa Rica, two of them (M. ilus branchus and M. euryleon clusoculis (Fig. 2) are found in many habitats, and the third one; (M. pausanias prasinus (Fig. 1) is very local and seasonal. The adults feed on flowers of various trees in the genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) and Croton (Euphorbiaceae) and bushes such as Lantana (Verbenaceae) [3]. They are active during the morning and midday. During hot days, males of these butterflies drink water from the edges of streams, rivers and roads (puddling). It is uncertain if this behavior is associated with nutrient filtering [3,5] or simply for thermoregulation by drinking cold water and expulsing it warmer. The early stages and host plants of butterflies are important to establish relationships among closely related groups as shown by Brown [1]. Field observations, such as oviposition behavior, are needed for swallowtails butterflies because they provide important information about ancestral behavior and ecological adaptive potential [10]. By finding valuable taxonomical and ethological characteristics, it is possible to infer phylogenetic proximity and a better understanding of the ecological relationships, approaching in this way, to an effective conservation strategy of poorly known butterfly populations. It is the goal of this paper to describe the early stages and natural history features for M. euryleon clusoculis and M. pausanias prasinus to help in this regard. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS A butterfly sampling field trip on 11 May 2007 at the Rain Forest Aerial Tram property (450m), on the border of Braulio Carillo National Park, Limón, Costa Rica, 10º 10' 47.76" N, 23 Annual Review & Research in Biology, 3(1): 22-30, 2013 83º 55' 07.66" W, was done in order to gather biological and ethological information of butterflies. The climate in the locality is Tropical Wet Forest, Premontane Belt Transition (T- wfΔ) [11]. It is a hilly area where on sunny mornings at the sides of the Molinete river it is possible to watch males of M. pausanias prasinus puddling. Between 11:30 h and 13:30 h, a M. pausanias prasinus female was observed flying in circles at the canopy level of the host plant tree. When oviposition behavior was detected, I climbed the tree to a height of fifteen meters and collected around ten eggs. The eggs were taken to the Museo de Insectos of the University of Costa Rica, with an average room temperature of 24ºC. The hatched caterpillars were put into a plastic bag and fed with leaves of the host plant, which were brought every week from the place where the eggs were collected. The identification of the host plants were done by botanists Carlos O. Morales and Erick Villegas. From the same locality, a group of eggs of M. euryleon clusoculis were found on 21 February 2006 on a different young plant at the side of the river. These eggs were reared the same way as the M. pausanias. The adults obtained from this study are deposited in the author’s collection. The photographs were taken with a Nikon camera model Coolpix 4500 and a reflex Canon model Rebel G. 3. RESULTS 3.1 Mimoides pausanias prasinus Host plant: Annona amazonica R. E. Fr., a 15 m tree at the edge of a light gap on a hilly terrain. Egg (Fig.1a): 1.2mm diameter, spherical, light-green, laid singly or in small groups of three or four eggs slightly separated, not together, on the upper side of the young leaves, always close to or in the central vein. The female butterflies glide slow, high in the canopy during hot hours searching for oviposition sites. When the tree is found, several eggs are laid on the highest young leaves. 6 days to emerge. First instar (Fig.1b):1.7-3 mm. Head capsule round, black, stemmata black. Body predominantly colored light-green, T1 with light-green dorso-lateral scoli projected anteriorly with some setae black and others light-green and smaller light-green ventro-lateral scoli, dorsal posterior half area black, anterior light-green. T2 similar to T1 but light-green. T3 similar to T1 and T2, but also, with two dorsal scoli. Segments T3, A1, A2, A3, A7, A8, A9 with dorsal scoli. Segments from T3 to A9 with light-green lateral scoli. Segments T3, A1, A2, A3, A7, A8 dorsal area black. Time: 4 days to molt. Second instar (Fig. 1c): 3-6.5mm. Head capsule same as first instar but bigger. Predominant body colors are black and light-yellow. T1 ventro-lateral area yellowish green bearing same color scoli, dorsal area half black and half yellowish-green with same color dorso-lateral scoli projected anteriorly with black setae. T2 dorsal area black with big yellowish-green patches. Yellowish-green dorsal small scoli and same color dorso-lateral scoli. T3 similar to T2. A1 similar to T3 but with smaller dorso-lateral scoli. A2 dorsal area black with two small dorsal scoli with black setae. Lateral area black with three yellowish-green patches and a same color small scoli. A3 similar to A2. A4 Black with a ring of big yellowish-green patches. Small lateral and dorsal yellowish-green scoli. A5 and A6 similar to A4. A7 similar to A2. A8 similar to A6. A9 yellowish-green with same color small dorsal and lateral scoli. A10 yellowish-green with no scoli. Time: 5 days to molt. 24 Annual Review & Research in Biology, 3(1): 22-30, 2013 Third instar (Fig. 1d): 6.5-16mm. Head capsule round, black, stemmata black all covered by black and gray short setae. Frons and clypeus white. T1 black with variegated pattern of yellow patches bearing two small black scoli with black setae. T2, T3 and T4 similar to T1 but without scoli. A1 to A5 black with five yellow longitudinal lines crossing laterally along the body. Three yellow lines also cross dorsally but central line is interrupted on A2, A3 and A7 and partially interrupted on A4 and A7. The two yellow lines at the sides of the central line cross from A2 to A7 but interrupted on A3, A7 and partially on A6.