info:eu-repo/semantics/article
From the butterfly’s point of view: Learned colour association determines differential pollination of two co-occurring mock verbains by Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae)
Fecha
2020-06Registro en:
Drewniak, María Eugenia; Briscoe, Adriana D.; Cocucci, Andrea Aristides; Beccacece, Hernán Mario; Zapata, Adriana Inés; et al.; From the butterfly’s point of view: Learned colour association determines differential pollination of two co-occurring mock verbains by Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae); Wiley Blackwell Publishing, Inc; Biological Journal of The Linnean Society; 130; 4; 6-2020; 715-725
0024-4066
1095-8312
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Drewniak, María Eugenia
Briscoe, Adriana D.
Cocucci, Andrea Aristides
Beccacece, Hernán Mario
Zapata, Adriana Inés
Moré, Marcela
Resumen
Learning plays an important role in the location and utilization of nectar sources for pollinators. In this work we focus on the plant-pollinator interaction between the butterfly Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae) and two Glandularia plant species (Verbenaceae) that grow in sympatry. Bioassays using arrays of artificial flowers (red vs. lilac-purple) showed that naïve A. vanillae butterflies do not have innate colour preferences for any of the tested colours. Trained butterflies were able to learn to associate both floral colours with the presence of nectar rewards. Wild A. vanillae butterflies visited the red flowers of Glandularia peruviana much more frequently than the lilac-purple flowers of Glandularia venturii. Standing nectar crop measurements showed that G. peruviana flowers offered three times more sucrose than the flowers of G. venturii. Analyses confirmed that corolla colour of G. peruviana (red flowers)and G. venturii (lilac-purple flowers) were discriminable in the butterfly?s colour space. These findings may indicate flexibility in A. vanillae preferences due to a learned association between red coloration and higher nectar rewards.