Chemical Ecology of Swallowtail Butterflies

本研究的长期目标是阐明植物化学在一个单一的草食性昆虫分类群，即蝴蝶科凤蝶科的生态和进化中所起的作用。在未来三年的重点将继续放在植物识别产卵男性的化学基础。将在各种宿主和非宿主植物中调查黑燕尾蝶（蝶族）的接触和挥发性产卵刺激物的发生，以评估一种昆虫物种中化学反应谱的特异性和可变性。促卵素的鉴定。将完成Eurytides marcellus（Graphiini族）与Battus philenor（Troidini族）和P. polyxenes（Papilionini族）已知刺激物的比较。刺激剂和抑制剂的鉴定也将与P. machaon一起进行，它显示了从Apiacea到Asteraceae（Artemisia属）的宿主转换的证据。这些比较研究将允许测试一个长期存在的假设，即燕尾蝶的进化辐射受到用作宿主识别行为线索的特定化学化合物的植物分布的限制。

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 during the next three years will continue to be placed on the chemical basis of plant recognition by oviposition males. The occurrence of contact and volatile oviposition stimulants for the black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes (tribe Papilionini), will be surveyed in a variety of host and non-host plants to assess the specificity and variability of chemical response profiles in one insect species. Identification of oviposition stimulants from Asimina spp. for Eurytides marcellus (tribe Graphiini) will be completed for comparison with known stimulants for Battus philenor (tribe Troidini) and P. polyxenes (tribe Papilionini). Identification of stimulants and deterrents will also be carried out with P. machaon, which shows evidence of a host switch from the Apiacea to the Asteraceae (genus Artemisia) These comparative studies will permit testing of a long-held hypothesis that the evolutionary radiation of swallowtail butterflies has been constrained by the botanical distribution of particular chemical compounds that are used as behavioral cues in host recognition.