Chemical Ecology of Swallowtail Butterflies

这项研究的长期目标是阐明 植物化学在植物生态学和进化中的作用 食草昆虫的一个分类单元，即蝴蝶科 凤蝶科 重点放在植物的化学基础上 被产卵的雌性识别。 识别接触性 黑凤蝶产卵刺激剂 polyxenes（部落Papilionini），将从胡萝卜， 胡萝卜，以其他伞形科植物评估 一种昆虫的化学反应谱的特异性。 还将对接触性兴奋剂进行鉴定 与一个近亲的两个亚种，P. machaon，这表明 在一个主机开关从伞形科的明显步骤， 菊科（蒿属）。 识别接触性 马兜铃属植物对蝙蝠蛾的刺激作用， 远亲（部落Troidini），将完成和遵循 通过对Eurytides marcellus的类似研究， 属于第三个部落（Graphiini）的物种。 这些 比较研究将允许测试长期持有的 假设燕尾蝶的适应性辐射 受到对特定化学物质预先适应的限制 在宿主识别中用作行为线索的化合物。

The long-term goal of this research is to elucidate the roles played by plant chemistry in the ecology and evolution of a single taxon of herbivorous insects, namely the butterfly family Papilionidae. Emphasis is placed on the chemical basis of plant recognition by ovipositing females. Identification of contact oviposition stimulants for the black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes (tribe Papilionini), will be extended from carrot, Daucus carota, to other umbelliferous plants to assess the specificity of chemical response profiles in one insect species. Identification of contact stimulants will also be carried out with two subspecies of a close relative, P. machaon, which show apparent steps in a host switch from the Apiaceae to the Asteraceae (genus Artemisia). Identification of contact stimulants from Aristolochia species for Battus philenor, a more distant relative (tribe Troidini), will be completed and followed by similar studies with Eurytides marcellus, an Asimina-feeding species belonging to yet a third tribe (Graphiini). These comparative studies will permit testing of the long-held hypothesis that the adaptive radiation of swallowtail butterflies has been constrained by preadaptation to particular chemical compounds that are used as behavioral cues in host recognition.