New records of larval hostplants for ithomiinae butterflies (Nymphalidae)

Novos registros de plantas hospedeiras das larvas de borboletas Ithomiinae (Nymphalidae)

NEW RECORDS OF LARVAL HOSTPLANTS FOR ITHOMIINAE BUTTERFLIES (NYMPHALIDAE)

COSTA, F. A. P. L.

Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF

Correspondence to: Felipe A. P. L. Costa, C.P. 794, CEP 36001-970, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil

Received June 02, 1998 – Accepted November 19, 1998 – Distributed September 10, 1999

ABSTRACT

Seventeen new records of larval hostplants are given for Ithomiinae butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in southeastern Minas Gerais, and one in Brasília, DF. At the present state of knowledge, generalizations about larval feeding habits of these insects may be premature.

Key words: butterflies, hostplants, Ithomiinae, Minas Gerais State, Solanum.

RESUMO

Novos registros de plantas hospedeiras das larvas de borboletas Ithomiinae (Nymphalidae)

Dezessete novos registros de plantas hospedeiras das larvas são relatados para borboletas Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) no sudeste de Minas Gerais e um em Brasília, DF. No atual estágio de conhecimento, generalizações sobre os hábitos alimentares das larvas desses insetos podem ser prematuras.

Palavras-chave: borboletas, Ithomiinae, Minas Gerais, plantas hospedeiras, Solanum.

INTRODUCTION

The subfamily Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) includes about 50 genera and 300 species of Neotropical butterflies (Mielke & Brown, 1979; Brown & Freitas, 1994). Larvae of these butterflies feed on plants in the Apocynaceae, Gesneriaceae, and especially Solanaceae, particularly on the huge genus Solanum (Drummond & Brown, 1987).

Although Solanum L. is a cosmopolitan genus, more than half of its 1,500-2,000 species are concentrated in the Neotropics (Hunziker, 1979). Minas Gerais State, southeastern (SE) Brazil, is rich in Solanum species and is the center of distribution of some species-group (see Whalen, 1984; Carvalho, 1996). According to Eiterer et al . (1996 and work in process) and Carvalho (1996) there are at least 51 species of Solanum considered native to SE Minas Gerais.

Drummond & Brown (1987) compiled records of larval hostplants for Ithomiinae, especially from localities where these butterflies have been objects of active research. Additional records have appeared in the past years (e.g., for larvae feeding on Solanum: DeVries, 1987 [5 records]; Costa, 1991 [3]; Brown, 1992 [5]; Brown & Freitas, 1994 [6]), but Drummond & Brown (1987) [DB hereafter] remains the more complete source of hostplant records for Ithomiinae.

Here I present new records of larval hostplants for Brazilian ithomiine butterflies (i.e., 18 interactions between six species of butterflies and 13 species of Solanum). I also draw attention to that, at the present state of knowledge, generalizations about ithomiine larval use of Solanum species may be premature.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Records were obtained during fieldwork in the Reserva Biológica do Poço D’Anta, Reserva Biológica de Santa Cândida, and the “Morro do Imperador”, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (21°45’S, 43°20’W), except for one record obtained in the Reserva Ecológica do Roncador (IBGE), Brasília, Distrito Federal (15°50’S, 47°50’W).

I consulted Brown (1992) for identification of butterflies. Plants were identified by comparison with specimens in the herbarium of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (CESJ).

To measure the inclusiveness of DB’s data-base, I made a list of the 42 species of Solanum (excluding cultivated) mentioned as larval hostplants for Brazilian ithomiine butterflies by those authors and compared it with a list of 50 species of Solanum (excluding S. americanum ; see below) that occur in SE Minas Gerais, according to Eiterer et al . (1996 and work in process) and Carvalho (1996).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 includes 18 new records of larval hostplants obtained for six species of ithomiine butterflies. It is important to note that: (1) Solanum lycocarpum and S. palinacanthum are two widely distributed species, but are frequently confused with related species, in particular Solanum grandiflorum Ruiz et Pav. and S. aculeatissimum Jacq., respectively. Apparently, this is the reason that these species were not mentioned in DB. Brown (1987),

TABLE 1

New records¹ of larval hostplants² for ithomiine butterflies.

for example, presents a plate with Solanum palinacanthum (p. 370, Fig. 6D), although the legend (p. 368) calls it Solanum aculeatissimum. (2) Some species of Solanaceae, such as Solanum americanum Mill., seem to be immune to feeding by ithomiine larvae (see Brown, 1987). So not all species of Solanum that grow in a given habitat represent potential hostplants for these larvae.

Of the 42 species of Solanum mentioned for Brazil by DB, at least 19 can be found in SE Minas Gerais (^{Appendix 1}); and of the 50 species that occur in SE Minas Gerais, 31 were not reported by DB (^{Appendix 2}). I suspect that most of the latter can be used by ithomiine larvae; nine of these 31 species are reported for the first time here as larval hostplant for ithomiine butterflies (Table 1).

19 species of Solanum found in SE Minas Gerais, mentioned in Drummond & Brown (1987).¹

31 species of Solanum found in SE Minas Gerais, not mentioned in Drummond & Brown (1987).

Many widespread ithomiine species utilize several larval hostplants over their broad ranges (Drummond, 1986; Brown, 1987; Costa, personal observation). Hence, the larval hostplant list for a given species should increase if records are added from different places.

The number of species of Solanum reported by DB for the Neotropics in general (72) and Brazil in particular (42) is only 8%-12% of the species of Solanum expected to occur in these regions.

Moreover, half of the 179 records on Solanum species reported by DB came from only two places: Costa Rica (55 records on 25 species) and East-Central São Paulo State, SE Brazil (Sumaré and Campinas: 34 records on 17 species). DB’s data-base appears, therefore, a small and biased sample and many more records need to be accumulated before the hostplant relationships of these Neotropical butterflies can be properly evaluated.

Acknowledgements — I thank K. S. Brown Jr. for comments on an early version of the manuscript. I also thank K. S. Brown Jr. and J. D. Hay for help with the English text.

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• BROWN, K. S., Jr., 1987, Chemistry at the Solanaceae/Ithomiinae interface. Ann. Miss. Bot. Garden, 74: 359-397.
• BROWN, K. S., Jr., 1992, Borboletas da Serra do Japi: diversidade, hábitats, recursos alimentares e variação temporal. In: L. P. C. Morellato (ed.), História Natural da Serra do Japi: Ecologia e Preservação de uma Área Florestal no Sudeste do Brasil, pp. 142-186. Campinas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
• BROWN, K. S., Jr. & FREITAS, A. V. L., 1994, Juvenile stages of Ithomiinae: overview and systematics (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Trop. Lepid., 5: 9-20.
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• DeVRIES, P. J., 1987, The Butterflies of Costa Rica and their Natural History: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae Princeton, Princeton UP.
• DRUMMOND, B. A., III, 1986, Coevolution of ithomiine butterflies and solanaceous plants. In: W. G. D’Arcy (ed.), Solanaceae: Biology and Systematics, pp. 307-327. New York, Columbia UP.
• DRUMMOND, B. A., III, & BROWN, K. S., Jr., 1987, Ithomiinae (Lepid.: Nymphalidae): summary of know larval foodplants. Ann. Miss. Bot. Garden, 74: 341-358.
• EITERER, M., ALMEIDA-LAFETÁ, R. C. & COSTA, F. A. P. L., 1996, O gênero Solanum L. (Solanaceae) no município de Juiz de Fora. In: SBB, Resumos do XLVII Congresso Nacional de Botânica, p.142. Nova Friburgo, Sociedade Botânica do Brasil.
• HUNZIKER, A. T., 1979, South American Solanaceae: A synoptic survey. In: J. G. Hawkes, R. N. Lester & A. D. Shelding (eds.), The Biology and Taxonomy of Solanaceae, pp. 49-85. London, Academic.
• KNAPP, S. D., 1986, A revision of Solanum section Geminata (G. Don) Walpers PhD thesis. Ithaca, Cornell University.
• MIELKE, O. H. H. & BROWN, K. S., Jr., 1979, Suplemento ao Catálogo dos Ithomiidae Americanos de R. Ferreira d’Almeida (Lepidoptera) (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) Curitiba, Universidade Federal do Paraná.
• NEE, M., 1991, Synopsis of Solanum section Acanthopora: A group of interest for glycoalkaloids. In: J. G. Hawkes, R. N. Lester, M. Nee & N. Estrada (eds.), Solanaceae III: Taxonomy, Chemistry, Evolution, pp. 257-266. London, Academic.
• SILVA, S. R., 1996, O gênero Solanum L. (Solanaceae) no Distrito Federal. MSc thesis. Brasília, Universidade de Brasília.
• WHALEN, M. D., 1984, Conspectus of species group in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. Gentes Herb., 12: 179-282.

APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  01 June 2001
• Date of issue
  Aug 1999

History

• Accepted
  19 Nov 1998
• Received
  02 June 1998