Egg Phenology of a Host-Specialist Butterfly in the Western Slopes of the Northern Chilean Andes

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• 作者：H A Vargas (1)
  H A Benez (2) (3)
  
• 关键词：Folivorous ; Lepidoptera ; monophagous ; Pieridae ; temporal abundance
• 刊名：Neotropical Entomology
• 出版年：2013
• 出版时间：December 2013
• 年：2013
• 卷：42
• 期：6
• 页码：595-599
• 全文大小：
• 作者单位：H A Vargas (1)
  H A Benez (2) (3)
  
  1. Depto de Recursos Ambientales, Fac de Ciencias Agronicas, Univ de Tarapac Casilla 6-D, Arica, Chile
  2. Fac of Life Sciences, The Univ of Manchester, Manchester, UK
  3. Instituto de Alta Investigaci, Univ de Tarapac Arica, Chile
  
• ISSN：1678-8052

文摘

Phenological studies are especially important in order to understand the ecological process operating at temporal level. The western slopes of the northern Chilean Andes at about 3,500m asl are a mosaic of arid environments in which precipitations are highly seasonal, mostly concentrated in summer. Teriocolias zelia andina Forbes (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is one of the most conspicuous and regularly observed butterflies flying in this region; it is a host specialist associated with the native shrub Senna birostris var. arequipensis (Fabaceae). The objectives of this study were (1) to characterize the temporal variations in the relative abundance of eggs of this host-specialist butterfly and (2) to examine the relationship of these variations with leaf phenology. Monthly samplings of eggs were carried out from February 2011 to January 2012. Circular statistical analyses of the relative abundance of eggs indicated clustered distribution along the year with the mean vector in June. Temporal variation in the relative abundance of eggs was correlated (Spearman rank correlation test) with the availability of plant substrate for egg laying and larval feeding.