Metamorphosis in the pupae of the Trypoxylus dichotomus was continuously observed at 9.4T until their emergence. A large liquid-like mass occupied most of the volume in the trunk, while the ...surrounding tissue already existed at the beginning of the observation period. As the mass shrunk, tissues such as flight muscle formed, whereas the reservoir became prolonged to form the intestinal tract. This implies that the liquid-like mass worked as the raw material for creating adult tissues.
To elucidate the purpose of butterfly puddling, we measured the amounts of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ that were absorbed or excreted during puddling by male Japanese Papilio butterflies through a urine ...test. All of the butterflies that sipped water with a Na+ concentration of 13 mM absorbed Na+ and excreted K+, although certain butterflies that sipped solutions with high concentrations of Na+ excreted Na+. According to the Na+ concentrations observed in naturally occurring water sources, water with a Na+ concentration of up to 10 mM appears to be optimal for the health of male Japanese Papilio butterflies. The molar ratio of K+ to Na+ observed in leaves was 43.94 and that observed in flower nectars was 10.93. The Na+ amount in 100 g of host plant leaves ranged from 2.11 to 16.40 mg, and the amount in 100 g of flower nectar ranged from 1.24 to 108.21 mg. Differences in host plants did not explain the differences in the frequency of puddling observed for different Japanese Papilio species. The amounts of Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in the meconium of both male and female butterflies were also measured, and both males and females excreted more K+ than the other three ions. Thus, the fluid that was excreted by butterflies at emergence also had a role in the excretion of the excessive K+ in their bodies. The quantities of Na+ and K+ observed in butterfly eggs were approximately 0.50 μg and 4.15 μg, respectively; thus, female butterflies required more K+ than male butterflies. Therefore, female butterflies did not puddle to excrete K+. In conclusion, the purpose of puddling for male Papilio butterflies is not only to absorb Na+ to correct deficiencies but also to excrete excessive K+.
We incidentally discovered that the larvae of
Sasakia charonda
(Hewitson, 1863) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Apaturinae) disturbed by ants, wasps, or humans release volatile compounds orally. To ...identify these substances, we collected oral odorant samples directly from the mouths of
S. charonda
larvae into volatile-collecting tubes. The trapped oral odorant samples were subjected to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). We confirmed the identity of 19 substances by comparing them to GC results of known standards and inferred them to mainly be alcohols and aldehydes/ketones, with main chains of 4–5 carbons. Three of the chemicals in the oral odorant samples, 2-butanol, 1-penten-3-ol, and 3-pentanone, showed a repellant effect on the ants
Pristomyrmex punctatus
(Smith, 1860) and
Formica japonica
Motschoulsky, 1866 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). We also examined the effects of these 19 volatiles on
Polistes
spp. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and confirmed that some of them were effective repellants against these wasps. We propose that the substances we identified in this study can be used as defensive chemicals, analogous to the osmeterium emissions specific to Papilionidae butterflies. Furthermore, we examined the oral odorants of three related Japanese Apaturine species,
Hestina assimilis
(Linnaeus, 1758),
H. persimilis
(Westwood, 1850), and
Apatura metis
(Freyer, 1829) using the same approach. The chemical compositions of the oral odorants of
H. assimilis
and
H. persimilis
were similar to that of
S. charonda
, whereas that of
A. metis
differed. Some of the oral substances also induced a defensive response in conspecific Apaturinae larvae. We consider these substances to also act as alarm pheromones in these larvae.
Metamorphosis in the pupae of the Trypoxylus dichotomus was continuously observed at 9.4T until their emergence. A large liquid-like mass occupied most of the volume in the trunk, while the ...surrounding tissue already existed at the beginning of the observation period. As the mass shrunk, tissues such as flight muscle formed, whereas the reservoir became prolonged to form the intestinal tract. This implies that the liquid-like mass worked as the raw material for creating adult tissues.
To elucidate the purpose of butterfly puddling, we measured the amounts of Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Ca.sup.2+, and Mg.sup.2+ that were absorbed or excreted during puddling by male Japanese Papilio ...butterflies through a urine test. All of the butterflies that sipped water with a Na.sup.+ concentration of 13 mM absorbed Na.sup.+ and excreted K.sup.+, although certain butterflies that sipped solutions with high concentrations of Na.sup.+ excreted Na.sup.+ . According to the Na.sup.+ concentrations observed in naturally occurring water sources, water with a Na.sup.+ concentration of up to 10 mM appears to be optimal for the health of male Japanese Papilio butterflies. The molar ratio of K.sup.+ to Na.sup.+ observed in leaves was 43.94 and that observed in flower nectars was 10.93. The Na.sup.+ amount in 100 g of host plant leaves ranged from 2.11 to 16.40 mg, and the amount in 100 g of flower nectar ranged from 1.24 to 108.21 mg. Differences in host plants did not explain the differences in the frequency of puddling observed for different Japanese Papilio species. The amounts of Na.sup.+, K.sup.+, Ca.sup.2+, and Mg.sup.2+ in the meconium of both male and female butterflies were also measured, and both males and females excreted more K.sup.+ than the other three ions. Thus, the fluid that was excreted by butterflies at emergence also had a role in the excretion of the excessive K.sup.+ in their bodies. The quantities of Na.sup.+ and K.sup.+ observed in butterfly eggs were approximately 0.50 mug and 4.15 mug, respectively; thus, female butterflies required more K.sup.+ than male butterflies. Therefore, female butterflies did not puddle to excrete K.sup.+ . In conclusion, the purpose of puddling for male Papilio butterflies is not only to absorb Na.sup.+ to correct deficiencies but also to excrete excessive K.sup.+.
Many butterflies acquire nutrients from non-nectar sources such as puddles. To better understand how male Papilio butterflies identify suitable sites for puddling, we used behavioral and ...electrophysiological methods to examine the responses of Japanese Papilio butterflies to Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺. Based on behavioral analyses, these butterflies preferred a 10-mM Na⁺ solution to K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ solutions of the same concentration and among a tested range of 1 mM to 1 M NaCl. We also measured the ion concentrations of solutions sampled from puddling sites in the field. Na⁺ concentrations of the samples were up to 6 mM, slightly lower than that preferred by butterflies in the behavioral experiments. Butterflies that sipped the 10 mM Na⁺ solution from the experimental trays did not continue to puddle on the ground. Additionally, butterflies puddled at sites where the concentrations of K⁺, Ca²⁺, and/or Mg²⁺ were higher than that of Na⁺. This suggests that K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ do not interfere with the detection of Na⁺ by the Papilio butterfly. Using an electrophysiological method, tip recordings, receptor neurons in contact chemosensilla inside the proboscis evoked regularly firing impulses to 1, 10, and 100 mM NaCl solutions but not to CaCl₂ or MgCl₂. The dose–response patterns to the NaCl solutions were different among the neurons, which were classified into three types. These results showed that Japanese Papilio butterflies puddle using Na⁺ detected by the contact chemosensilla in the proboscis, which measure its concentration.
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