Food intake of fruit-feeding butterflies: evidence for adaptive variation in proboscis morphology

Adult butterflies feed from a variety of substrates and have appropriate adaptations. We examined proboscis morphology in a community of fruit‐feeding butterflies (Nymphalidae) in a tropical forest in Uganda. These data were supplemented with behavioural observations and measurements of intake rate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological journal of the Linnean Society 2005-11, Vol.86 (3), p.333-343
Main Authors: MOLLEMAN, FREERK, KRENN, HARALD W., VAN ALPHEN, MONIQUE E., BRAKEFIELD, PAUL M., DEVRIES, PHILIP J., ZWAAN, BAS J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Biological evolution
Charaxinae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Insecta
intake rate
Invertebrates
Lepidoptera
life history
Nymphalinae
post-ingestive behaviour
puddling
Satyrinae
tropical forest
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Summary:Adult butterflies feed from a variety of substrates and have appropriate adaptations. We examined proboscis morphology in a community of fruit‐feeding butterflies (Nymphalidae) in a tropical forest in Uganda. These data were supplemented with behavioural observations and measurements of intake rate on natural and artificial substrates. We found no sexual dimorphism in proboscis morphology even though puddling behaviour is usually performed by males. Two main feeding techniques could be distinguished on the basis of behaviour and morphology: the piercing technique, typically found in Charaxinae, and the sweeping technique employed by both Nymphalinae and Satyrinae. These techniques, distinguished in previous studies, are described in more detail and their relative efficiencies are discussed in the context of sexual dimorphism, food‐choice and life history evolution. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 86, 333–343.
ISSN:0024-4066
1095-8312
DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00533.x