The Pattern of Social Parasitism in Maculinea teleius Butterfly Is Driven by the Size and Spatial Distribution of the Host Ant Nests.

ABSTRACT: The parasitic relationship between Maculinea butterflies and Myrmica ants has been extensively studied but little information is available on the spatial occurrence of Maculinea larvae. We searched for the presence of Maculinea teleius in 211 ant nests at two sites in two crucial phases of its life cycle, i.e., in autumn, during the initial larval development, and in the following late spring, before pupation. We assessed variations in the proportion of infested nests and factors correlated with spatial distributions of parasites in Myrmica colonies. The parasitism rate in autumn was very high (∼50% of infestation rate) but decreased in the following spring. The most important factor explaining parasite occurrence in both seasons was the nest size. Furthe

SUBMITTER: Witek M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9961401 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature