Chemical Ecology of Swallowtail Butterflies

本研究的长期目标是阐明植物化学在单一食草昆虫分类群蝴蝶科的生态和进化中所起的作用。今后三年的重点将继续放在雄性产卵识别植物的化学基础上。本研究将调查多种寄主植物和非寄主植物对黑凤尾（Papilio polyxenes）接触性和挥发性产卵刺激物的发生情况，以评估一种昆虫的化学反应谱的特异性和变异性。将完成Asimina属Eurytides marcellus （Graphiini部落）的产卵刺激物鉴定，并与已知的Battus philenor （Troidini部落）和P. polyxenes （Papilionini部落）的刺激物进行比较。对刺激物和威慑物的鉴定也将与P. machaon一起进行，它显示了宿主从Apiacea转换到Asteraceae （Artemisia属）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特定化合物的植物分布的限制，这些化合物被用作宿主识别的行为线索。

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.