The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.

Nettle‐feeding nymphalid butterflies: temperature, development and distribution

SIMON BRYANT

School of Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, U.K.,

Search for more papers by this author
CHRIS THOMAS

Department of Biology, University of Leeds, U.K.

Search for more papers by this author
JEFFREY BALE

School of Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, U.K.,

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 21 November 2003
Cited by: 43
Simon Bryant School of Biological Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.S.R.Bryant@bham.ac.uk

Abstract

1. Four nymphalid butterflies, Aglais urticae L., Inachis io L., Polygonia c‐album L. and Vanessa atalanta L., share the same primary host plant, Urtica dioica L., but have different margins to their U.K. and European ranges. Their developmental responses to a series of constant temperatures were measured.

2. Degree‐day requirements were found broadly to explain the relative distributions and differences in voltinism of A. urticae, P. c‐album and I. io. The migrant V. atalanta did not fit into the predicted pattern, and this species may be more limited by its ability to overwinter.

3. Although the most northerly distributed species, A. urticae, had the lowest degree‐day requirement, it had the highest developmental threshold and performed best (for mortality, pupal weight and relative growth rate) at high experimental temperatures. It is suggested that this may be due to the gregarious nature of its larvae and their possible ability to thermoregulate.

4. At southern margins, different distributional limits may be explained partly by larval gregariousness (a more northern trait) and maximum temperatures at which development is possible.

5. Limits to the distributions of these mobile species are at least partially explicable by the interaction of climatic patterns and thermal biology. A rapid response to climate change is predicted, and has already been observed in two of the species.

Number of times cited: 43

  • , Within-season variability of fighting behaviour in an Australian alpine grasshopper, PLOS ONE, 12, 4, (e0171697), (2017).
  • , Butterfly oviposition preference is not related to larval performance on a polyploid herb, Ecology and Evolution, 6, 9, (2781-2789), (2016).
  • , Using a phenological network to assess weather influences on first appearance of butterflies in the Netherlands, Ecological Indicators, 69, (205), (2016).
  • , Anthropogenic host plant expansion leads a nettle‐feeding butterfly out of the forest: consequences for larval survival and developmental plasticity in adult morphology, Evolutionary Applications, 8, 4, (363-372), (2015).
  • , Updating risk management recommendations to limit exposure of non‐target Lepidoptera of conservation concern in protected habitats to Bt‐maize pollen, EFSA Journal, 13, 7, (n/a-n/a), (2015).
  • , Beneficial insects associated with stinging nettle,Urtica dioicaLinnaeus, in central Washington State, Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 91, 1, (82), (2015).
  • , Plasticity of the thermal developmental reaction norms in the european peacock butterfly Inachis io (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), Journal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology, 51, 3, (222), (2015).
  • , Predicting adult emergence of Dakota skipper and Poweshiek skipperling (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in Canada, Journal of Insect Conservation, 18, 5, (875), (2014).
  • , Mechanistic models for the spatial spread of species under climate change, Ecological Applications, 23, 4, (815-828), (2013).
  • , Vulnerability of Pollination Ecosystem Services, Climate Vulnerability, 10.1016/B978-0-12-384703-4.00416-0, (117-128), (2013).
  • , References, A Resource‐Based Habitat View for Conservation, (354-388), (2012).
  • , Elevational trends in butterfly phenology: implications for species responses to climate change, Ecological Entomology, 37, 2, (134-144), (2012).
  • , Does including physiology improve species distribution model predictions of responses to recent climate change?, Ecology, 92, 12, (2214-2221), (2011).
  • , The use of artificial neural networks in analysing the nutritional ecology of Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), compared with a statistical model, Australian Journal of Entomology, 49, 3, (201-212), (2010).
  • , Influence of experimental warming and shading on host–parasitoid synchrony, Global Change Biology, 16, 1, (102-112), (2009).
  • , Effects of temperature and elevation on habitat use by a rare mountain butterfly: implications for species responses to climate change, Ecological Entomology, 34, 4, (437-446), (2009).
  • , Stage‐structured matrix models for organisms with non‐geometric development times, Ecology, 90, 1, (57-68), (2009).
  • , Combined effects of climate and biotic interactions on the elevational range of a phytophagous insect, Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, 1, (145-155), (2007).
  • , Placing butterflies on the map – testing regional geographical resolution of three stable isotopes in Sweden using the monophagus peacock Inachis io, Ecography, 31, 4, (490-498), (2008).
  • , A method for the rapid measurement of thermal tolerance traits in studies of small insects, Physiological Entomology, 33, 4, (389-394), (2008).
  • , DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE AND HABITAT FACTORS ON BUTTERFLY DIVERSITY, Ecology, 88, 3, (605-611), (2007).
  • , Exploring links between physiology and ecology at macro-scales: the role of respiratory metabolism in insects, Biological Reviews, 74, 1, (87), (2007).
  • , Thermal response in adult codling moth, Physiological Entomology, 31, 1, (80-88), (2006).
  • , Species richness changes lag behind climate change, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273, 1593, (1465), (2006).
  • , Spatial distribution ofAglais urticae(L.) and its host plantUrtica dioica(L.) in an agricultural landscape: implications forBtmaize risk assessment and post-market monitoring, Environmental Biosafety Research, 5, 1, (27), (2006).
  • , EXPANSION OF GEOGRAPHIC RANGE IN THE PINE PROCESSIONARY MOTH CAUSED BY INCREASED WINTER TEMPERATURES, Ecological Applications, 15, 6, (2084-2096), (2005).
  • , Thermoregulation behaviour in codling moth larvae, Physiological Entomology, 30, 1, (54-61), (2005).
  • , Water–energy balance and the geographic pattern of species richness of western Palearctic butterflies, Ecological Entomology, 28, 6, (678-686), (2003).
  • , Understanding gregariousness in a larval Lepidopteran: the roles of host plant, predation, and microclimate, Ecological Entomology, 28, 6, (729-737), (2003).
  • , The geographical range structure of the Holly Leaf‐miner. III. Cold hardiness physiology, Functional Ecology, 17, 6, (858-868), (2003).
  • , Assessing the impacts of global warming on forest pest dynamics, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 1, 3, (130-137), (2003).
  • , Does Herbivore Diversity Depend on Plant Diversity? The Case of California Butterflies, The American Naturalist, 161, 1, (40), (2003).
  • , The influence of thermal ecology on the distribution of three nymphalid butterflies, Journal of Applied Ecology, 39, 1, (43-55), (2002).
  • , Herbivory in global climate change research: direct effects of rising temperature on insect herbivores, Global Change Biology, 8, 1, (1-16), (2002).
  • , The nature of migration in the red admiral butterfly Vanessa atalanta: evidence from the population ecology in its southern range, Ecological Entomology, 26, 5, (525-536), (2008).
  • , Host plant growth characteristics as determinants of abundance and phenology in jumping plant‐lice on downy willow, Ecological Entomology, 26, 4, (376-387), (2008).
  • , Impacts of landscape structure on butterfly range expansion, Ecology Letters, 4, 4, (313-321), (2008).
  • , Revisiting water loss in insects: a large scale view, Journal of Insect Physiology, 47, 12, (1377), (2001).
  • , Effects of temperature on the development of an arctic Collembola (Hypogastrura tullbergi), Functional Ecology, 14, 6, (693-700), (2001).
  • , Marginal range expansion in a host‐limited butterfly species Gonepteryx rhamni, Ecological Entomology, 25, 2, (165-170), (2001).
  • , Species response to global environmental change or why ecophysiological models are important: a reply to Davis et al., Journal of Animal Ecology, 68, 6, (1259-1262), (2001).
  • , Modification of the triangle method of degree‐day accumulation to allow for behavioural thermoregulation in insects, Journal of Applied Ecology, 35, 6, (921-927), (2008).
  • , Feeding Behaviour on Host Plants May Influence Potential Exposure to Bt Maize Pollen of Aglais Urticae Larvae (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), Insects, 10.3390/insects6030760, 6, 3, (760-771), (2015).