東南亞刺蛾科昆蟲之分類學記要以及1新屬與11新種之描述

文獻來源: Solovyev AV. 2009. Notes on South-East Asian Limacodidae (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea) with one new genus and eleven new species. Tijdschirft voor Entomologie 152: 167-173.

Eleven new species of Limacodidae from South-East Asia are described here as new: Barisania honeyi sp. n. from central Myanmar, northern and central Vietnam and central Thailand, Pseudaltha eboris sp. n., from northern Thailand, P. sapa sp. n., from northern Vietnam and northern Thailand, Austrapoda seres sp. n. from China (Chekiang and Shaanxi), Euphlyctinides indi sp. n. from India, E. aeneola sp. n. from northern and western Thailand, Pseudonagoda siniaevi sp. n. from southern Andaman, Atosioides accola sp. n. from western Sumatra and southern Thailand, Pseudidonauton siamica sp. n. from northern Thailand and central Vietnam, P. chihpyh sp. n. from Taiwan and P. vexa sp. n. from central Vietnam and southeastern Thailand. The genus Atosioides Solovyev is erected here with type-species Atosia rochei Holloway, 1986. Brief morphological reviews of all examined genera are given. All diagnostic features are illustrated.

本文描述台灣產刺蛾之一新種, Pseudidonauton chihpyh Solovyev, 2009 (知本細刺蛾), 正模式標本採自南投惠蓀林場(存放於幕尼黑的Thomas Witt Colletion), 而副模標本則採自台東知本溫泉(存放地點同正模) (註: 個人很不喜歡外國人描述台灣物種的時候亂拼音, 他明明知道知本的拼音是Chihpen, 但又在發表時拼成chihpyh (知屁?), 這是怎樣呢?)

授粉昆蟲是否比植食昆蟲具有更廣的食性選擇?

photo by Bettaman

Are insect pollinators more generalist than insect herbivores?

Free Abstract

1. Colin Fontaine1,*, 2. Elisa Thebault1 and 3. Isabelle Dajoz2

Author for correspondence (c.fontaine@imperial.ac.uk).

近年來的生物群聚層次的研究已經領會到廣食性物種遠比過去所認知的還要多，而這些研究成果也突顯了這些廣食性生物在群聚功能與演化中的優勢影響力。取食與互利共生這類的交互作用被認為應該會影響物種的廣食性程度,然而目前並沒有進行直接的比較，作者在此研究中以44個植物與昆蟲間取食或傳粉的網狀關係進行比較。分析顯示交互作用的類型確實會對物種的廣食性各種面向產生影響，從群聚中廣食性的分布到與昆蟲物種有交互作用的植物親緣關係上的多樣性。然而，觀察到的改變範圍視所研究物種廣食性而定。當非量化與量化的測量暗示傳粉者與較多種植物互動且互動關係比食植者更均勻，親緣關係上的測量清楚的顯示食植者和植物物種之間的互動遠比傳粉者與植物更加緊密。此比較方法藉由指出屬於各交互作用類型的群聚所擁有的一些基本特點，為更了解多物種集合的功能與演化提供一個有希望的觀點。

Abstract

Recent community-level studies have acknowledged that generalist species are more widespread than previously thought and highlighted their preponderant impact on community functioning and evolution. It is suggested that the type of interaction, trophic versus mutualistic, should affect species generalization level; however, no direct comparison has been made yet. Here, we performed such a comparison using 44 plant–insect networks describing either pollination or herbivory communities. Our analysis shows that the type of interaction does indeed have an impact on various aspects of species generalism, from the distribution of generalism in the community to the phylogenetic diversity of the plants with which a given insect species interacts. However, the amplitude of the observed differences depends on the aspect of species generalism studied. While the non-quantitative and quantitative measures of generalism suggest that pollinators interact with more plant species and more evenly than herbivores, phylogenetic measures clearly show that herbivores interact with plant species far more closely related to each other than pollinators. This comparative approach offers a promising perspective to better understand the functioning and evolution of multispecies assemblages by pointing out some fundamental singularities of communities depending on the type of interaction considered.

翅膀順從之空氣動力學與功能的重要性

Aerodynamic and functional consequences of wing compliance

Free Full Text PDF (601.9 KB)

Experiments in Fluids
Volume 46, Number 5 / 2009年5月

Andrew M. Mountcastle¹ and Thomas L. Daniel¹

愈來愈多證據指出大多數的昆蟲在飛行時會經歷某程度上的翅膀變形。由於翅膀基部不具肌肉末梢，昆蟲翅膀的瞬間形狀是由翅膀的週期性加速形成的空氣動力伴隨著慣性與彈力所造成。由於伴隨著快速往復拍擊翅膀而來的慣性力量負擔- 乘載高過平均空氣動力，翅的被動形變是許多昆蟲拍翅飛行不可避免的現象。雖然翅的順服涉及一些加強抬昇的機制(如：適合的弧度)，然而翅膀變形在直接的空氣動力上的結果仍未被解答。在本文中，作者針對菸草天蛾(Manduca sexta)翅膀的順服如何影響整體產生的氣流呈現新的研究資料。真正的蛾翅被置於自動裝置以其主要的旋轉平面及自然狀況下的振翅頻率25 Hz拍擊翅膀。作者使用數位質點影像測速儀的超高頻率解析以評估在此平均對流程度下之翅膀順服，憑藉翅膀僵硬程度在自然狀況下的變化以修改翅突然變形的程度(新鮮的翅較有彈性且比脫水的翅表現出較好的順服度)。作者發現有彈性的翅產生明顯強度較大的平均對流程度，且方向較乾硬的翅膀有利於抬昇。作者指出其結果確認翅膀的順服在飛行力量上瓣演著關鍵的角色。

Abstract
A growing body of evidence indicates that a majority of insects experience some degree of wing deformation during flight. With no musculature distal to the wing base, the instantaneous shape of an insect wing is dictated by the interaction of aerodynamic forces with the inertial and elastic forces that arise from periodic accelerations of the wing. Passive wing deformation is an unavoidable feature of flapping flight for many insects due to the inertial loads that accompany rapid stroke reversals—loads that well exceed the mean aerodynamic force. Although wing compliance has been implicated in a few lift-enhancing mechanisms (e.g., favorable camber), the direct aerodynamic consequences of wing deformation remain generally unresolved. In this paper, we present new experimental data on how wing compliance may affect the overall induced flow in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta. Real moth wings were subjected to robotic actuation in their dominant plane of rotation at a natural wing beat frequency of 25 Hz. We used digital particle image velocimetry at exceptionally high temporal resolution (2,100 fps) to assess the influence of wing compliance on the mean advective flows, relying on a natural variation in wing stiffness to alter the amount of emergent deformation (freshly extracted wings are flexible and exhibit greater compliance than those that are desiccated). We find that flexible wings yield mean advective flows with substantially greater magnitudes and orientations more beneficial to lift than those of stiff wings. Our results confirm that wing compliance plays a critical role in the production of flight forces.

相關參考： Science News- Straighten Up And Fly Right: Moths Benefit More From Flexible Wings Than Rigid

雄蛾會對親戚減少精子的投資

photo by Patrick C..

Male moths reduce sperm investment in relatives

Abstract & Full Text PDF

Zenobia Lewis^{1, a} and Nina Wedell^{, a,}

^aSchool of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, U.K.

Animal Behaviour
Volume 77, Issue 6 , June 2009, Pages 1547-1550

產生精子需付出代價、而雄性經常藉由調整射精以最大化他們的生殖成功率。先前研究顯示雄性對於雌性品質的變異是敏感的，為了精子競爭的風險與活力，雄性會依據情形調節其射精量。許多物種的雌性和雄性之間對交配對象與自己的親戚關係是敏感的，且或許會完全放棄與血緣關係相近個體交配已避免付出近親雜交的代價。此外，在一妻多夫關係下的物種，雌性具有運用交配後的機制以避免使用到雄性親戚的精子；然而，目前並未有研究顯示雄性也可以在生殖細胞的層次上分辨並避免雌性親戚。作者在此以印度穀螟蛾（Plodia interpunctella）為對象的研究中發現，與提供精子給雄性的姊妹相比，雄性提供較多可孕與不可孕的精子給無血緣關係的雌性。這些結果指出雄蛾可藉由針對交配對象的血緣關係管理其有限的精子，以減少發生在近親雜交上的生殖投資。

Sperm production carries costs and males frequently tailor their ejaculates to maximize their reproductive success. Previous work shows that males are sensitive to variation in female quality, and to the risk and intensity of sperm competition, and adjust their ejaculates accordingly. Males and females of many species are sensitive to the relatedness of their mating partners and may forego mating with related individuals altogether to avoid the costs of inbreeding. In addition, in polyandrous species, females can potentially invoke postcopulatory mechanisms to avoid using related males' sperm, but to date no study has demonstrated that males also discriminate against related females at the level of the gamete. In this study on the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, males provided unrelated females with more fertile and nonfertile sperm than their sisters. These results indicate that male moths can minimize the potential costs of inbreeding by carefully managing their limited sperm supplies in relation to partner relatedness.

Keywords: inbreeding; Indian meal moth; Plodia interpunctella; sexual selection; sperm; strategic sperm allocation

林地領域性蝶種以視覺偵測配偶及從事求偶飛行與太陽光斑大小之相關性

photo by Zéza Lemos

Visual mate detection and mate flight pursuit in relation to sunspot size in a woodland territorial butterfly

Animal Behaviour Volume 78, Issue 1, July 2009, Pages 17-23
Martin BergmanCorresponding ^a ,Christer Wiklunda
^a Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Sweden

據領域具有相當可觀的利益。雄性的斑點木蝶（Pararge aegeria）在開放森林棲地的太陽光斑上飛行，勝利的一方成為光斑的佔有者，而落敗的一方則沒有領地且只能在小的光斑中坐等雌蝶。先前研究發現,雖然雌性並未特別受到領地佔有者或者光斑領域本身的吸引，但是雄性佔有領地者的交配成功率較沒有領地者高。 作者在此測試以下假說：(1)雄性佔有領地者有較高交配成功率的原因在於在大型光斑中的配偶偵測比在小型光斑中更有效率 (2) 只有在某個特定大小以上的光斑能被界定為領域。領域光斑的田野評估顯示，被守禦的光斑大小顯著大於森林底層光斑的平均尺寸。作者以實驗測試雄蝶以視覺偵測一隻模型蝴蝶經過光斑時的能力，結果顯示在光斑中飛行長距離飛行的情形下,雄蝶能較為成功地追求並攔截經過的模型。因此，作者提出光的狀況、視覺配偶偵測與完整的配偶飛行追求可解釋雄性的斑點木蝶（Pararge aegeria）在開放森林棲地守禦大型光斑的理由。

Territory residency is associated with considerable benefits. In the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria, males fight over ownership of large sunspots in open forest habitats; winners become sunspot residents, and losers become nonterritorial and sit and wait for females in small sunspots. A previous study has shown that residents have higher mating success than nonterritorial males, although females are not more attracted to territorial males or sunspot territories per se. Here we tested the hypotheses (1) that the higher success of resident males is caused by visual mate detection being more efficient in a large than in a small sunspot, and (2) that only sunspots above a certain size are defended as territories. Field assessment of territorial sunspot size showed that defended sunspots were significantly larger than ‘average sunspots’ on the forest floor. Experimental tests of male ability to detect visually a model butterfly passing through a sunspot showed that males were more successful in pursuing and intercepting a passing model when flown a longer distance in the sunspot. Hence, we conclude that light conditions and associated visual mate detection and ability to complete mate flight pursuit can explain why P. aegeria males defend territories in large sunspots in forest habitats.

Keywords: butterfly vision; Lepidoptera; light gap; mate searching; Pararge aegeria; sexual selection; speckled wood butterfly; territoriality

蝴蝶的固定眼紋展示可恫嚇攻擊它的鳥類

Fixed eyespot display in a butterfly thwarts attacking birds

Article References - selected

PDF (411 K)

Animal Behaviour
Volume 77, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages 1415-1419

Ullasa Kodandaramaiah, Adrian Vallina and Christer Wiklunda

Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Sweden
Available online 10 April 2009.

眼紋出現在許多鱗翅目昆蟲中，被猜測具有適應上的價值。所提出的假說中其中一個功能是捕食者會被獵物身上大而醒目的眼紋驚嚇，接著避免攻擊這類獵物。近期實驗顯示，眼紋與恫嚇行為的結合可提升存活率。作者測試僅僅存在明顯的眼紋時、是否可以嚇退攻擊的鳥類，意即不斷地展示眼紋而不表現恫嚇行為。作者將孔雀蛺蝶 Junonia almana 的翅膀黏貼在一片卡紙上以模擬成一隻蝴蝶展翅的樣貌，同時將ㄧ隻麵包蟲黏在雙翅中央身體的位置。此實驗中以山雀 Parus major 作為捕食者，在”具有眼紋”與”塗去眼紋”兩種模式獵物中做出選擇。具有眼紋的獵物顯著地比塗去眼紋者較少受到攻擊，首次攻擊與第二次攻擊之間間隔的時間也比被塗去眼紋者更長。以上結果支持天然產生的蝴蝶眼紋可提升存活率，即便是在持續展示且靜止不動的的情形下。

Abstract
Eyespots have evolved in many lepidopteran insects, which suggests their adaptive value. One of their hypothesized functions is that predators are intimidated by prey with large and conspicuous eyespots and hence refrain from attacking them. Recent experiments have shown that a combination of eyespots and intimidating behaviour can increase survival. We tested whether the mere presence of conspicuous eyespots can thwart attacking birds, that is, when the eyespots are displayed constantly, without any intimidating behaviour. We used prey that consisted of wings of the peacock pansy butterfly, Junonia almana, glued onto a piece of cardboard so as to resemble a butterfly with its wings open. A mealworm was placed between the wings in place of the body. Great tits, Parus major, were used as the predator in the study and were offered a choice between two model prey, one with intact eyespots and one without. Prey with eyespots were attacked significantly fewer times than those without. The time between the first and second attack was longer when the prey without eyespots was attacked first. These results support the hypothesis that naturally occuring butterfly eyespots can increase survival even when they are constantly displayed and motionless.

Keywords: eyespot; intimidation hypothesis; Junonia almana; peacock pansy

綜合現生與化石分類群的形態與分子證據推測喙蝶亞科的親緣關係

文獻來源: Kawahara A. 2009. Phylogeny of snout butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Libytheinae): combining evidence from the morphology of extant, fossil, and recently extinct taxa. Cladistics 25(3): 263-278. [全文下載]

Abstract
Snout butterflies (Nymphalidae: Libytheinae) are morphologically one of the most unusual groups of Lepidoptera. Relationships among libytheines remain uncertain, especially in the placement of the recently extinct Libythea cinyras and two fossils, L. florissanti, and L. vagabunda. The aim of this study is to present the first phylogenetic hypothesis of Libytheinae utilizing all available morphological data from extant and extinct species. Forty-three parsimony-informative characters were coded, and the all-taxa analysis resulted in six most parsimonious trees (length 92 steps, CI = 0.66, RI = 0.82). The subfamily was resolved as monophyletic and was split into Old World and New World clades. Inclusion of extinct species with considerable missing data had little effect on relationships of extant taxa, although Bremer support values and jackknife frequencies generally decreased if extinct species were included. In order to preserve the monophyly of extant genera, two fossils are assigned to Libytheana for the first time (L. florissanti comb. n. and L. vagabunda comb. n.). This study demonstrates the value of morphological data in phylogenetic analysis, and highlights the contribution that can be made by scoring extinct taxa and including them directly into the analysis.