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Enemy-free space maintains swallowtail butterfly host shift.

Shannon M Murphy1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. smm40@cornell.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 17, 2004
PubMed
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Butterflies may shift to new host plants to escape predators, a phenomenon known as enemy-free space. This study demonstrates enemy-free space as a key factor maintaining natural host shifts in the Alaskan swallowtail butterfly.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Insect Behavior

Background:

  • Natural enemies drive herbivore mortality and natural selection.
  • Herbivores may evolve to utilize enemy-free space, but empirical evidence is limited.
  • No studies have documented enemy-free space in natural, non-agricultural host shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of enemy-free space in a natural host shift of the Alaskan swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon aliaska).
  • To determine if predator avoidance influences host plant selection and larval performance.

Main Methods:

  • Larval growth and survival of P. m. aliaska were analyzed in field experiments.
  • Experiments were conducted on ancestral (Apiaceae) and novel (Asteraceae) host plants.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Treatments included exposure or protection from predators.

    • Main Results:

    • Larval survival was higher on novel Asteraceae hosts than the ancestral Apiaceae host when predators were present.
    • Larval survival and growth were greater on the ancestral Apiaceae host in the absence of predators.
    • These findings support the hypothesis of enemy-free space driving host shifts.

    Conclusions:

    • Enemy-free space is a significant mechanism maintaining naturally occurring host shifts in Papilio machaon aliaska.
    • Predator-mediated selection favors the use of novel host plants, even if less optimal in terms of nutrition.
    • This study provides empirical support for enemy-free space in a natural ecological context.