Phengaris alcon

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Alcon blue
Glaucopsyche alcon-01 (xndr).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Phengaris
Species:
P. alcon
Binomial name
Phengaris alcon
Synonyms

Phengaris alcon, the Alcon blue or Alcon large blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae and is found in Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Mongolia.

Contents

Seitz 83a The Macrolepidoptera of the world (Taf. 83) (8145303452).jpg
Seitz 83a

Description from Seitz

L. alcon Schiff. (= areas Esp., euphemus Godt.) (83 a). Large, the male above deep blue, but without brilliant gloss. The female black-brown, dusted with dark blue in the basal area. The dark violet-grey underside has numerous ocelli. L. alcon is easily distinguished from the following species (coeligena [ L. coeligena Oberth. China], euphemus , arcas , arion , arionides ...) by the male bearing on the blue disc of the forewing no other black spots but the discocellular lunule. Central Europe and North Asia, from the coast of the North Sea (Hamburg, Bremen, Belgium) to the Mediterranean, and from France to the Altai, Dauria and Tibet, ab. nigra Wheel, has the males strongly darkened, the females being quite black above. In ab. cecinae Hormuz. the ocelli of the underside are absent or strongly reduced. In ab. pallidior Schultz the margin is grey instead of black. – marginepunctata Gillm. has a row of black dots before the margin, almost parallel with it; found by Hafner at Loitsch and other places in Carniola.— In the form rebeli Hirschke the blue of the upperside is more brilliant and more extended, the dark margin being reduced, in the female only the apical area black; Styria. – monticola Stgr. (83 a) has a narrow black margin like rebeli, but the blue is very deep and dark, so dull as in true alcon; from the Alps of Switzerland and the Caucasus. – Egg white, finely reticulated, laid on the flowers of the food-plant ( Gentiana pneumonanthe ). The larva generally does not break through the shell on the upperside, so that the holes of empty eggs are not easily noticed. At first grey, later on reddish brown with dark dorsal line and dark head. The butterflies occur on damp meadows where Gentiana grows; they are plentiful in such places, sometimes even in abundance, from the end of May into July, in the North not before the end of June. [2]

Taxonomy

There are five subspecies:

There has been controversy over whether Phengaris rebeli , currently regarded as an ecotype within the Alcons, should be listed as a separate species. The two types are morphologically indistinguishable and molecular analysis has revealed little genetic difference, mostly attributable to localized habitat adaptation. [3] [4] [5] Still some maintain that they should be treated as distinct species, especially for conservation purposes, because they parasitise different host ant colonies and parasitise these ants at different rates, [6] and also rely on different host plant species (Gentiana pneumonanthe in the case of Phengaris alcon and Gentiana cruciata in the case of Phengaris rebeli). [7]

Ecology

Alcon blue depositing an egg Alcon blue (Phengaris alcon) depositing an egg.jpg
Alcon blue depositing an egg
Alcon blue eggs on marsh gentian Klokjesgentiaan met afgezette eitjes van gentiaanblauwtje.jpg
Alcon blue eggs on marsh gentian

The species can be seen flying in mid- to late summer. It lays its eggs onto the marsh gentian ( Gentiana pneumonanthe ); in the region of the Alps they are sometimes also found on the related willow gentian ( Gentiana asclepiadea ). [8] The caterpillars eat no other plants.

Parasitic relationship

Pupa in ant nest Maculinea alcon pupa in ant nest.jpg
Pupa in ant nest

Like some other species of Lycaenidae, the larval (caterpillar) stage of P. alcon depends on support by certain ants; it is therefore known as a myrmecophile.

Alcon larvae leave the food plant when they have grown sufficiently (4th instar, or shedding) and wait on the ground below to be discovered by ants. The larvae emit surface chemicals (allomones) that closely match those of ant larvae, causing the ants to carry the Alcon larvae into their nests and place them in their brood chambers. Once adopted into a nest, Alcon larvae are fed the regurgitations of nurse ants (just as other ant brood), a process called trophallaxis. [9] This parasitic method is known as the "cuckoo" strategy and is an alternative to the predatory strategy employed by most other members of the genus such as Phengaris arion . [10] Though less common, the cuckoo strategy has been found to have several advantages over the predatory strategy. For one, it is more trophically efficient than preying directly on other ant grubs, and as a result, significantly more cuckoo-type larvae can be supported per nest than predatory larvae. [9] Another advantage of cuckoo feeding is that individuals, having pursued a higher degree of social integration, have a higher chance of surviving when a nest is overcrowded or facing food shortage because ants preferentially feed the larvae; compared to the type of scramble competition that can devastate predatory larvae, this contest competition results in much lower mortality. [11] [12] Though the cuckoo strategy has its advantages, it also comes with important costs; with greater host ant specialization comes much more limited ecological niches. [12]

When the Alcon larva is fully developed it pupates. Once the adult hatches it will leave the ant nest.

Over time, some ant colonies that are parasitized in this manner will slightly change their larva chemicals as a defence, leading to an evolutionary "arms race" between the two species. [13] [14]

Generally, Lycaenidae species which have a myrmecophilous relationship with the ant genus Myrmica are locked to primary host specificity. The Alcon blue is unusual in this regard in that it uses different host species in different locations throughout Europe, and often uses multiple host species even within the same location and population. [15] [16] [17] Though it may be adopted into the nests of multiple Myrmica species within a given site, there is typically one "primary" species with which the locally adapted larvae can best socially integrate, leading to drastically higher survival rates. [9] Across Europe, Alcons are known to use Myrmica scabrinodis , Myrmica ruginodis , Myrmica rubra , Myrmica sabuleti,Myrmica schencki, and rarely Myrmica lonae, and Myrmica specioides. [18] [6]

Predation

P. alcon larvae are sought underground by the Ichneumon eumerus wasp. On detecting a P. alcon larva the wasp enters the nest and sprays a pheromone that causes the ants to attack each other. In the resulting confusion the wasp locates the butterfly larva and injects it with its eggs. On pupation, the wasp eggs hatch and consume the chrysalis from the inside. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ichneumonoidea</span> Superfamily of wasps

The superfamily Ichneumonoidea contains one extinct and three extant families, including the two largest families within Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae and Braconidae. The group is thought to contain as many as 100,000 species, many of which have not yet been described. Like other parasitoid wasps, they were long placed in the "Parasitica", variously considered as an infraorder or an unranked clade, now known to be paraphyletic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large blue</span> Species of butterfly

The large blue is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully reintroduced with new conservation methods. The species is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Today P. arion can be found in Europe, the Caucasus, Armenia, western Siberia, Altai, north-western Kazakhstan and Sichuan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brood parasitism</span> Animal reliance on other individuals to raise its young

Brood parasitism is a subclass of parasitism and phenomenon and behavioural pattern of certain animals, brood parasites, that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own, usually using egg mimicry, with eggs that resemble the host's.

<i>Myrmica rubra</i> Species of ant

Myrmica rubra, also known as the common red ant or erroneously the European fire ant, is a species of ant of the genus Myrmica, found all over Europe and is now invasive in some parts of North America and Asia. It is mainly red in colour, with slightly darker pigmentation on the head. These ants live under stones and fallen trees, and in soil. They are aggressive, often attacking rather than running away, and are equipped with a stinger, though they lack the ability to spray formic acid like the genus Formica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common blue</span> Species of butterfly

The common blue butterfly or European common blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic and has been introduced to North America. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively called blues, from the coloring of the wings. Common blue males usually have wings that are blue above with a black-brown border and a white fringe. The females are usually brown above with a blue dusting and orange spots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycaenidae</span> Family of butterflies

Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies, with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver-studded blue</span> Species of butterfly

The silver-studded blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. P. argus can be found across Europe and east across the Palearctic, but it is most often studied in the United Kingdom where the species has experienced a severe decline in population due to habitat loss and fragmentation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ant mimicry</span> Animals that resemble ants

Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms; it has evolved over 70 times. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while some predators of ants, especially spiders, mimic them anatomically and behaviourally in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves; the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid-Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants.

<i>Myrmica</i> Genus of ants

Myrmica is a genus of ants within the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is widespread throughout the temperate regions of the Holarctic and high mountains in Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky large blue</span> Species of butterfly

The dusky large blue is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

<i>Phengaris rebeli</i> Species of butterfly

Phengaris rebeli, common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was initially classified as a subspecies of P. alcon, a European researcher, Lucien A. Berger, designated it as a separate species in 1946. Genetic similarities between P. rebeli and P. alcon have led many researchers to argue that the two are the same species and differences are due to intraspecific variation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarce large blue</span> Species of butterfly

The scarce large blue is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, northern Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine and East across the Palearctic to Japan. The species was first described by Johann Andreas Benignus Bergsträsser in 1779.

<i>Phengaris</i> Butterfly genus in family Lycaenidae

Phengaris is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies in the subfamily Polyommatinae. Commonly, these butterflies are called large blues, which if referring to a particular species is P. arion, a species resident in Europe and some parts of Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemical mimicry</span> Biological mimicry using chemicals

Chemical mimicry is a type of biological mimicry involving the use of chemicals to dupe an operator.

Many types of polymorphism can be seen in the insect order Lepidoptera. Polymorphism is the appearance of forms or "morphs" differing in color and number of attributes within a single species. In Lepidoptera, polymorphism can be seen not only between individuals in a population but also between the sexes as sexual dimorphism, between geographically separated populations in geographical polymorphism and also between generations flying at different seasons of the year. It also includes the phenomenon of mimicry when mimetic morphs fly alongside non-mimetic morphs in a population of a particular species. Polymorphism occurs both at a specific level with heritable variation in the overall morphological design of individuals as well as in certain specific morphological or physiological traits within a species.

<i>Gentiana cruciata</i> Species of plant

Gentiana cruciata, the star gentian or cross gentian, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the Gentianaceae family.

<i>Myrmica scabrinodis</i> Species of ant

Myrmica scabrinodis is a Euro-Siberian species of ant. It lives in moderately humid habitats, tolerates soil moisture but also needs direct sunshine. It often inhabits peat bogs. It builds nests in the ground, in grass or moss tussocks, even under stones or in rotten wood. Its colonies are monogynous or have only a few queens and may contain about 2500 workers. This ant species is the main host of the entomopathogenic fungus Rickia wasmannii. Phengaris caterpillars are primary threats of M. scabrinodis with specific species such as Phengaris arion developing a predatory relationship.

<i>Myrmica schencki</i> Species of ant

Myrmica schencki is a species of ant in the genus Myrmica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphiles</span>

Symphiles are insects or other organisms which live as welcome guests in the nest of a social insect by which they are fed and guarded. The relationship between the symphile and host may be symbiotic, inquiline or parasitic.

Ichneumon eumerus is a species of parasitic wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae, subfamily Ichneumoninae. It is a specialist parasite of the larva of the mountain Alcon blue butterfly.

References

  1. ↑ van Swaay, C.; Wynhoff, I.; Verovnik, R.; Wiemers, M.; López Munguira, M.; Maes, D.; Sasic, M.; Verstrael, T.; Warren, M.; Settele, J. (2010). "Phengaris alcon (Europe assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T171928A6810312. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ↑ Adalbert Seitz in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)
  3. ↑ Als, Thomas D.; Vila, Roger; Kandul, Nikolai P.; Nash, David R.; Yen, Shen-Horn; Hsu, Yu-Feng; Mignault, André A.; Boomsma, Jacobus J.; Pierce, Naomi E. (2004). "The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in large blue butterflies". Nature. 432 (7015): 386–390. Bibcode:2004Natur.432..386A. doi:10.1038/nature03020. PMID   15549104. S2CID   4357717.
  4. ↑ Fric, Zdenĕk; Wahlberg, Niklas; Pech, Pavel; Zrzavý, Jan (1 July 2007). "Phylogeny and classification of the Phengaris–Maculinea clade (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): total evidence and phylogenetic species concepts". Systematic Entomology. 32 (3): 558–567. Bibcode:2007SysEn..32..558F. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2007.00387.x. ISSN   1365-3113. S2CID   4994461.
  5. ↑ Ugelvig, L. V.; Vila, R.; Pierce, N. E.; Nash, D. R. (1 October 2011). "A phylogenetic revision of the Glaucopsyche section (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), with special focus on the Phengaris–Maculinea clade". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (1): 237–243. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.05.016. PMID   21669295.
  6. 1 2 Tartally, A.; Nash, D. R.; Lengyel, S.; Varga, Z. (28 June 2008). "Patterns of host ant use by sympatric populations of Maculinea alcon and M. 'rebeli' in the Carpathian Basin". Insectes Sociaux. 55 (4): 370–381. doi:10.1007/s00040-008-1015-4. ISSN   0020-1812. S2CID   34590182.
  7. ↑ Thomas, J. A.; Elmes, G. W.; Wardlaw, J. C.; Woyciechowski, M. (1989). "Host specificity among Maculinea butterflies in Myrmica ant nests". Oecologia. 79 (4): 452–457. Bibcode:1989Oecol..79..452T. doi:10.1007/BF00378660. ISSN   0029-8549. PMID   28313477. S2CID   6807128.
  8. ↑ Bellmann, Heiko (2003). Der neue Kosmos-Schmetterlingsführer (in German). Kosmos. ISBN   978-3-440-09330-6.
  9. 1 2 3 Thomas, J. A.; Elmes, G. W. (1 November 1998). "Higher productivity at the cost of increased host-specificity when Maculinea butterfly larvae exploit ant colonies through trophallaxis rather than by predation". Ecological Entomology. 23 (4): 457–464. Bibcode:1998EcoEn..23..457T. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.1998.00153.x. ISSN   1365-2311. S2CID   85918545.
  10. ↑ Thomas, J.A.; J.C. Wardlaw (1990). "The effect of queen ants on the survival of Maculinea arion larvae in Myrmica ant nests". Oecologia. 85 (1): 87–91. Bibcode:1990Oecol..85...87T. doi:10.1007/bf00317347. PMID   28310959. S2CID   32623923.
  11. ↑ Thomas, J. A.; Wardlaw, J. C. (1992). "The capacity of a Myrmica ant nest to support a predacious species of Maculinea butterfly". Oecologia. 91 (1): 101–109. Bibcode:1992Oecol..91..101T. doi:10.1007/BF00317247. ISSN   0029-8549. PMID   28313380. S2CID   35810639.
  12. 1 2 Elmes, G. W.; Thomas, J. A.; Wardlaw, J. C.; Hochberg, M. E.; Clarke, R. T.; Simcox, D. J. (1998). "The ecology of Myrmica ants in relation to the conservation of Maculinea butterflies". Journal of Insect Conservation. 2 (1): 67–78. doi:10.1023/A:1009696823965. ISSN   1366-638X. S2CID   42022676.
  13. ↑ Nash, David R.; Als, Thomas D.; Maile, Roland; Jones, Graeme R.; Boomsma, Jacobus J. (4 January 2008). "A Mosaic of Chemical Coevolution in a Large Blue Butterfly". Science. 319 (5859): 88–90. Bibcode:2008Sci...319...88N. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.413.7297 . doi:10.1126/science.1149180. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   18174441. S2CID   34728715.
  14. ↑ Cressey, Daniel (2008). "The battle of the butterflies and the ants". Nature News. 3. doi: 10.1038/news.2007.405 .
  15. ↑ Akino, T.; Knapp, J. J.; Thomas, J. A.; Elmes, G. W. (22 July 1999). "Chemical mimicry and host specificity in the butterfly Maculinea rebeli, a social parasite of Myrmica ant colonies". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 266 (1427): 1419–1426. doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0796. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   1690087 .
  16. ↑ Elmes, G.; Akino, T.; Thomas, J.; Clarke, R.; Knapp, J. (2002). "Interspecific differences in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of Myrmica ants are sufficiently consistent to explain host specificity by Maculinea (large blue) butterflies". Oecologia. 130 (4): 525–535. Bibcode:2002Oecol.130..525E. doi:10.1007/s00442-001-0857-5. ISSN   0029-8549. PMID   28547253. S2CID   3183729.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Jeremy A.; Elmes, Graham W.; Sielezniew, Marcin; Stankiewicz-Fiedurek, Anna; Simcox, David J.; Settele, Josef; Schönrogge, Karsten (22 January 2013). "Mimetic host shifts in an endangered social parasite of ants". Proc. R. Soc. B. 280 (1751): 20122336. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2336. eISSN   1471-2954. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   3574407 . PMID   23193127. In three Ma. rebeli populations over 5 years in the Spanish Pyrenees, we found that eggs were laid indiscriminately on G. cruciata growing in the territories of four species of Myrmica
  18. ↑ Steiner, Florian M.; Sielezniew, Marcin; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit C.; Höttinger, Helmut; Stankiewicz, Anna; Górnicki, Adam (2003). "Host specificity revisited: New data on Myrmica host ants of the lycaenid butterfly Maculinea rebeli". Journal of Insect Conservation. 7 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1023/A:1024763305517. ISSN   1366-638X. S2CID   43327661.
  19. ↑ "Butterfly and Wasp: A Devious, Deceitful Cycle of Life". Wired. 4 January 2008.
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