Applied Entomology and Zoology, Vol. 39 (2004), Issue 2, pp.231-235
Color discrimination on the host location in the butterfly, Eurema hecabe (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)
Tadao Hirota, Yoshiaki Kato
Department of Biology, Division of Natural Sciences, International Christian University
Abstract
The influence of color discrimination on female host location was investigated in Eurema hecabe (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Mated females with no oviposition experience were presented with artificial plant models treated with the methanol extract of the host plant, Lespedeza cuneata (Fabaceae). When gray models of different intensity were presented to females, they landed and deposited eggs more frequently on the light gray model. However, when a yellow green model was presented to females with the gray, they landed and deposited eggs predominantly on the yellow green model. In the latter experiment, most females did not visit the gray models frequently, although one of the gray models had a similar intensity to that of the yellow green model. This result supports that E. hecabe distinguish the yellow green model by color.
Keywords: Lepidoptera, Pieridae, host-finding behavior, visual cues, color discrimination