Comments on larval shelter construction and natural history of Urbanus proteus Linn.,1.758 (Hesperiidae : Pyrginae) in southern Florida

2008·1.9 MB·English

by  Harold F Greeney

:
108 Journalofthe Lepidopterists’ Society
irrigated zones in association with naturalized weedy Scott,J.A. 1986.TheButterfliesofNorthAmerica.StanfordUniver-
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AravPernoav,inRc.iOa.d1e98L3.aIPnasemcptao.s qVueCopenrgjruedsiociaFnoraesltaaflloArargleenntoisnao,deLlaa Arthur M. Shapiro, Centerfor Population Biology,
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BuenosAires.334pp. July2008.
JournaloftheLepidopterists'Society
62(2),2008,108-110
COMMENTS ON LARVAL SHELTER CONSTRUCTION AND NATURAL HISTORY OF URBANUS
PROTEUS LINN., 1758 (HESPERIIDAE: PYRGINAE) IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA.
Additional keywords. Eggstacking,hostplant,oviposition,clutchsize.
The Bean Leaf Roller (Urbanus proteus Linn.) is a Tllis observation prompted us to search foliage ofother
common and widespread skipper (Hesperiidae) found V. luteola plants, and resulted in the discovery of 26
from southern United States south to Argentina (Smith additionalclutches ofhatched andunhatchedeggs.
et al. 1994). Early observations on its natural history At hatching, larvae consume only the top portion of
(Seudder 1889) have been supplemented with details the eggs (pers. obs.), and we were able to use the
from various parts of its range (Greene 1970, 1971a; remainingegg fragments to determine clutch size from
Kendall 1965; Moss 1949; Riley 1975; Skinner 1911; all27clutches (mean = 2, SD = 1.1, range = 1-5). Most
Smith et al. 1994; Young 1985), particularly in Florida clutches were located on the under surface of mature
(Quaintance 1898),where it is apest onleguminaceous leaves (n = 24), butoccasionallyon leafpetioles (n = 3).
crops (Green 1971b; Quaintance 1898; Watson &Tissot Withinaclutch, eggswereplacedadjacentto (touching)
1942) and where there exist documented seasonal or up to 1 mm from other eggs. One exception was a
movements (Urquhart & Urquhart 1976). Like most clutch ofthree eggs found stacked endto end such that
skippers (Greeney & Jones 2003), the larvae of U. only the bottom egg was attached to the leaf surface
proteus construct and live in shelters made from the (Fig. 1). Similarly, Quaintance (1898) reportedaclutch
leaves of the food plant, but only two authors have size of1-6andnotedthateggswere frequentlylaidin a
described or pictured these shelters in any detail stackedfashion, 3-4 eggs high. Young (1985), however,
(Quaintance 1898; Young 1985). In fact, detailed recordedonlysingle eggclutches in Costa Rica.
knowledge of larval shelter construction for most In addition to the eggs, we found a total of50 larvae
skippers is weak or nonexistent for all but one widely representing the following instars: 36 first, 8 second, 3
distributed North American species, Epargyreus clams third, 2 fourth, and 1 fifth. We removed larvae from
Cramer, 1775 (Jones et al. 2002; Lind etal. 2001;Weiss theirshelters and carefullydeterminedtheir ages using
et al. 2003). As shelters may prove useful in resolving the prior experience ofHFG with the larvae ofrelated
phylogenies (Greeney & Jones 2003), here we present species. We also watched as 3 first-instars constructed
our observations of shelters from a population of U. new shelters after removal from their original shelters.
proteus in southern Florida. By examining shelter construction and comparing our
We made observations at Burns Lake Campground observations to previously constructed shelters, we
(25°53’N, 81°13’W) in Big Cypress National Preserve, determined that larvae build 3-5 shelters as they
Collier County, Florida. On 30 December 2005, at develop, and that these belong to three shelter types.
14:15, we observed a female U. proteus ovipositing on First through third instars were found inside shelters
the under surface of a leaflet of Vigna luteola (Jacq.) built by excising a small triangular portion of the leal
Bentham (Leguminaceae). She laid three dull yellow margin and creasing it into a tent-shaped lid (Greeney
eggs in an evenlyspacedrow, andthen flewoutofsight. & Jones 2003; group III, type 10, two-cut stemmed
Volume 62, Number 2 109
will prove useful in testing phylogenetic hypotheses
(Greeney&Jones 2003) onlyifwe examine sheltersand
their construction in much more detail than previously
reported (but see Greeney & Warren 2003, 2004; Lind
etal. 2001; Weissetal. 2003).
Secondly, our observations, and observations oflate
instars of other pyrgines (HFG unpublished) and
coeliadines (Common & Waterhouse 1972), suggest
thatthere maybe little difference between the “type 3"
and“type 4” shelters distinguished by Greeney& Jones
(2003); thesesheltertypesbeingdefinedbythe number
ofleaves included in the shelter. In later larval stadia,
U. proteus silks together two or more leaves or leaflets
into a silk-lined pocket (this study, Quaintance 1898).
Young (1985), however, observed only two leaves used
We
in late instar shelter construction. conclude,
therefore, that the number and arrangement of the
various leaf parts used is likely related to the relative
sizeandshape ofthehostplantleavesratherthantoany
innate shelterbuildingbehavior. In otherwords, larvae
simplyspin silk, pullingleaves (orparts thereof) around
themselvesuntiltheyaresufficientlycovered. Similarly,
E. clarus shows variation in the number of leaves used
Fig. 1. Three Urbanusproteuseggshellsfoundontheunderside
ofaleaf. Burns LakeCampground,CollierCounty, Florida, Decem- in late instar shelters, varyingwith size ofthe hostplant
ber2005. leaf (M. Weiss pers. comm.). Based on these
shelters). These U. proteus shelters were, in faet, very observations , we suggest that “type 3” and “type 4”
similar to shelters described for E. clarus (Weiss et al. shelters, as definedby Greeney & Jones (2003), should
2003), and would be considered the same type under be mergedinto one “multi-leaf’ sheltertype, regardless
the classification of Greeney & Jones (2003). Like E. ofwhether the shelter includes two or more leaves or
darns, the shelter cuts of U. proteus were always leaflets.
oriented in adistinctfashion in relationto the leafbase; Finally, the three egg shells we found stacked end to
the longest cut always being distal. The most obvious end showed a different emergence pattern than
and consistent difference we found was the lack of a described in previous observations of lepidopteran
“notch” in the cut closest to the leafpetiole in shelters opposition. Several species of the nymphalid genus
built by U. proteus larvae (Fig. 2). Earlyinstar shelters Hamadryas Hiibnerare alsoknown to deposit eggs one
were still “tented” into a distinct peak, however, by on top ofanother, sometimes in chains of more than 10
pinching together (using multiple silk ties) a small eggs (Muyshondt & Muyshondt 1975b, 1975c). To
section along the margin ofthe shelter lid. The result
was a shelter similar in appearance to that built by E.
clarus, but arrived at by slightly different means (ie.
without the notch). Fourth instars were found, one
each, inside a shelter created by silking two leaves
together (group I, type 4, two-leaf shelter) and one
formed by silkingseveral leaves together (group I, type
3, multi-leafshelter). We found the single fifth instar
feedingadjacenttoseveralleaves silkedtogether(group
I, type 3 shelter) at around 17:45.
Our observations bring to light several important Fig. 2. Comparisonofcutpatternsforfirstinstarsheltersof(a)
aspects ofegglayingandlarvalshelterbuilding. Firstly, Epargyreusclarus(redrawnfromWeissetal.2003)and(b) Urbanus
species building superficially similar shelters may use proteus. Largearrowpointstowardsthebaseofthefoodplantleafto
showorientation ofshelters. Small arrows pointto (a) position of
slightlydifferentcutpatternsorconstruction techniques notchmadebyE.clarustoaidintentingtheshelterand(b)position
to arrive at the finished product. Therefore, shelters ofsilklaiddowntopinchshelterintoatentedpeakbyU. proteus.
110 Journalofthe Lepidopterists’ Society
emerge from the eggs, Hamadryas larvae create an Jones, M.T., I. Castellanos,6cM. R.Weiss.2002. Doleafshelters
openingin the side ofthe egg. Previous discussions on alwaysprotectcateqrillarsfrominvertebratepredators?Ecol. En-
tomol.27:753-757.
patterns of egg laying and larval emergence in Kendall, R. O. 1965. Larval foodplants and distribution notes for
nymphalids suggest an evolutionary signifigance to the twenty-fourTexasHesperiidae. Lepid. Soc. 19: 1-33.
correlation between side emergence and egg stacking: Lind,E. M., M.T.Jones, J. D. LongJ,. &M. R.Weiss.2001. Ontoge-
neticchangesinleafshelterconstructionbylarvaeofEpargyreus
side emergencebeingnecessarytoavoiddamagingeggs clams(Hesperiidae),thesilver-spottedskipper. Lepid.Soc.54:
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observation of egg stacking in U. proteus showed Moss, A. M. 1949. Biological notes on some “Hesperiidae” ofPara
andtheAmazon(Lep. Rhop.).ActaZool. Lilloana7:27-79.
emergence from the top, suggesting that emergence Muyshondt, A. &A. MuyshondtJr. 1975a. Notes onthelifecycle
from the side of the egg is not a necessary adaptive and natural history of El Salvador. IB. - Hamadryasfebrua
responsetoeggslaidinstacks. Whilewewereunableto (Nymphalidae-Hamadryadinae). J. NewYork Entomol. Soc. 83:
157-169.
clearlyillustrate top-emergence in Figure 2, our direct . 6cA. Muyshondt Jr. 1975b. Notesonthelifecycleandnatural
observations showthatthiswasindeedthecase. Figure history of El Salvador. II B. - Hamadryas guatemalena Bates
2 also shows that the eggs of U. proteus were not laid (Nymphalidae-Hamadryadinae). J. NewYorkEntomol. Soc. 83:
170-180.
dMiuryecsthloyncdetnter&ed aMbuoyvsehtohnedetggb(e1l9o7w5,b,as i1l9lu7s5tcr)atedfoinr hi.s6tcorAy. MofuyEslhoSnadltvadJro.r1.97I5lcl.BN.ot-esHoanmtahderlyiafescyacmlephaindnonmateuraL.l
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