From the butterfly?s point of view: learned colour association determines differential pollination of two co-occurring mock verbains by Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae)

BRISCOE AD; ZAPATA AI; DREWNIAK ME; BECCACECE HM; COCUCCI AC; MORÉ M

BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020 vol. 130 p. 715 - 725

0024-4066

Learning plays an important role in the location and utilization of nectar sources for pollinators. In this work wefocus on the plant-pollinator interaction between the butterfly Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae) and two Glandulariaplant species (Verbenaceae) that grow in sympatry. Bioassays using arrays of artificial flowers (red vs. lilac purple)showed that naïve A. vanillae butterflies do not have innate colour preferences for any of the tested colours. Trainedbutterflies were able to learn to associate both floral colours with the presence of nectar rewards. Wild A. vanillaebutterflies visited the red flowers of Glandularia peruviana much more frequently than the lilac purple flowers ofGlandularia venturii. Standing nectar crop measurements showed that G. peruviana flowers offered three timesmore sucrose than the flowers of G. venturii. Analyses confirmed that corolla colour of G. peruviana (red flowers)and G. venturii (lilac purple flowers) were discriminable in the butterfly?s colour space. These findings may indicateflexibility in A. vanillae preferences due to a learned association between red coloration and higher nectar rewards.