The biology of carnivorous butterfly larvae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Miletinae: Miletini) and their ant‐tended hemipteran prey in Thailand and the Philippines

Abstract

Transitions from feeding on plants to “aphytophagy” (feeding on anything else) have occurred repeatedly within the Lepidoptera, but these transitions have rarely spurred diversification: more than 99% of Lepidoptera species are phytophagous. One of the few radiations has occurred in the wholly aphytophagous subfamily Miletinae (Lycaenidae), but analysis of evolutionary patterns is hampered by a lack of information on the biology of these species. We describe the larval biology and host associations of five aphytophagous butterfly species from southeast Asia and report the first instances of predation on greenideid aphids (Hemiptera: Greenideidae) and leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) by Miletinae. We also report two instances in which larvae of a single lepidopteran species fed on different prey species at the same site. These novel findings are discussed in light of previous descriptions of larval biology and probable behavioural adaptations for host location by ovipositing female butterflies.

Keywords:

• aphytophagy
• DNA barcoding
• Formicidae
• social parasitism
• tritrophic interaction

Acknowledgements

Hans Bänziger and Shigeyuki Aoki identified the Asian aphid specimens, James LaFrankie, David Middleton and the staff of the Royal Thai Forestry Department Herbarium (BKF) identified the Asian aphids' host plants, and Stefan Cover identified the North American ants. Chaweewan Hutatcherern and Supachote Eungwijanpanya provided logistical support in Thailand. Ada Kaliszewska performed the molecular labwork and provided comments on a draft of the manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments on a previous version of this manuscript. The expeditions on which these data were collected were supported by a Department of Defense NDSEG Fellowship to D.J.L., an Environmental Protection Agency STAR Graduate Fellowship to D.J.L., Putnam Expedition Grants from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and Grant R‐154‐000‐270‐112 from the Singapore Ministry of Education. This research was conducted under permit 10/45 from the National Research Council of Thailand to D.J.L. and gratuitous permit R4A‐2005‐02 from the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau to the National Museum of the Philippines.