Reduced palatability, fast flight, and tails: decoding the defence arsenal of Eudaminae skipper butterflies in a Neotropical locality

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F24%3A00597589" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/24:00597589 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60076658:12310/24:43908372

Result on the web

<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jeb/article-pdf/37/9/1064/58935069/voae091.pdf" target="_blank" >https://academic.oup.com/jeb/article-pdf/37/9/1064/58935069/voae091.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voae091" target="_blank" >10.1093/jeb/voae091</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Reduced palatability, fast flight, and tails: decoding the defence arsenal of Eudaminae skipper butterflies in a Neotropical locality

Original language description

Prey often rely on multiple defences against predators, such as flight speed, attack deflection from vital body parts, or unpleasant taste, but our understanding on how often and why they are co-exhibited remains limited. Eudaminae skipper butterflies use fast flight and mechanical defences (hindwing tails), but whether they use other defences like unpalatability (consumption deterrence) and how these defences interact have not been assessed. We tested the palatability of 12 abundant Eudaminae species in Peru, using training and feeding experiments with domestic chicks. Further, we approximated the difficulty of capture based on flight speed and quantified it by wing loading. We performed phylogenetic regressions to find any association between multiple defences, body size, and habitat preference. We found a broad range of palatability in Eudaminae, within and among species. Contrary to current understanding, palatability was negatively correlated with wing loading, suggesting that faster butterflies tend to have lower palatability. The relative length of hindwing tails did not explain the level of butterfly palatability, showing that attack deflection and consumption deterrence are not mutually exclusive. Habitat preference (open or forested environments) did not explain the level of palatability either, although butterflies with high wing loading tended to occupy semi-closed or closed habitats. Finally, the level of unpalatability in Eudaminae is size dependent. Larger butterflies are less palatable, perhaps because of higher detectability/preference by predators. Altogether, our findings shed light on the contexts favouring the prevalence of single versus multiple defensive strategies in prey.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10616 - Entomology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GJ20-18566Y" target="_blank" >GJ20-18566Y: The role of species interactions in the diversification of Neotropical butterflies at the macroevolutionary and microevolutionary scales</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

ISSN

1010-061X

e-ISSN

1420-9101

Volume of the periodical

37

Issue of the periodical within the volume

9

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

1064-1075

UT code for WoS article

001291635800001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85202521964