Iridoid glycoside content of Euphydryas anicia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) and its major hostplant, Besseya plantaginea (Scrophulariaceae), at a high plains Colorado site

The checker spot butterfly, Euphydryas anicia , utilizes mainly Besseya plantaginea and only occasionally Castilleja integra as a larval host-plant at Michigan Hill, a few kilometers from a site where C. integra is used by over 90% of the butterflies. The B. plantaginea leaves that are consumed cont...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 1990-01, Vol.16 (1), p.187-197
Main Authors: L'Empereur, K.M. (Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO), Stermitz, F.R
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The checker spot butterfly, Euphydryas anicia , utilizes mainly Besseya plantaginea and only occasionally Castilleja integra as a larval host-plant at Michigan Hill, a few kilometers from a site where C. integra is used by over 90% of the butterflies. The B. plantaginea leaves that are consumed contain 9-22% iridoid glycosides, composed mainly of catalpol and catalpol esters, while larvae from the same plants contain 6-18% iridoids, mainly catalpol and no esters. Field-collected adult butterflies contain 0.5-4.3% iridoids. Laboratory reared adults secrete iridoids in the meconium upon eclosion and retain similar amounts. The adults and meconium iridoid content is considerably lower than in the larvae, and metabolism in the pupal stage may be occurring.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561