Reciprocal latitudinal clines in oviposition behavior ofPapilio glaucus andP. canadensis across the Great Lakes hybrid zone: possible sex-linkage of oviposition preferences

Summary

The eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly,Papilio glaucus, is the most polyphagous of all Papilionidae species. While diverse larval detoxication abilities are known for bothPapilio glaucus and the closely relatedP. canadensis, the factors affecting oviposition preferences in adult females are unknown. These congeneric species were studied to determine the extent of oviposition mistakes on toxic plants. We were also interested in comparing the geographic patterns of variation in oviposition preferences and the genetic basis of these differences. We conducted oviposition three-choice studies with the Canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly,Papilio canadensis, and the Eastern tiger swallowtail,Papilio glaucus, giving them the choice of (1) tuliptree,Liriodendron tulipifera, which is toxic to virtually all populations (P. canadensis) north of the Great Lakes Region of North America, (2) quaking aspen,Populus tremuloides, which is toxic to essentially all populations (P. glaucus) south of the Great Lakes, and (3) black cherry,Prunus serotina, which is an excellent foodplant for all members of thePapilio glaucus group, but which does not occur at latitudinal extremes of North America (in Alaska and most of Canada or the southern half of Florida). Handpaired interspecific hybrids were tested under the same experimental design to evaluate the possibility of sexlinked oviposition behavior. There was considerable variability in the choice of plants by individual butterflies, but a general trend suggesting that the females of each species had a lower preference for the plant toxic to their larvae. More than 6000 oviposition bouts were counted from 37 differentp. canadensis and 54p. glaucus females along a latitudinal transect of approximately 5000 km from Alaska south through the Great Lakes hybrid zone region to southern Florida. While not exceptionally high anywhere, the preference for aspen (Salicaceae) declined precipitously in central Michigan (45° N latitude) and remained very low (5–12%) in all locations southward to Florida, whereas we observed a reciprocal trend in preference for tuliptree (Magnoliaceae) which was greatest in Florida (87% of all eggs) and steadily declined northward across the Great Lakes region. Cherry was selected in these 3-choice tests at a relatively consistent and low frequency at all latitudes. Fixed allele differences in sex-linked (LDH and PGD) and autosomal (HK) electromorphs are known forP. glaucus andP. canadensis. Our electrophoretic data suggest that the preference of an individual female for aspen is not simply a characteristic of the northern species (P. canadensis) but can occur inP. glaucus females. The reciprocal situation is also evident in Northern Michigan and Wisconsin females (scored electrophoretically and morphologically asP. canadensis) which sometimes exhibit a clear preference for the toxic tuliptree. In fact, Alaskan populations ofP. canadensis chose tuliptree for about 52% of their eggs, even though none of their offspring has ever survived on this plant species in laboratory studies. We conclude that even with distinctive latitudinal trends, a considerable amount of local variation in relative oviposition preference exists among individuals of these polyphagous species. BothP. glaucus andP. canadensis will lay eggs on toxic plants. It appears that factors selecting against oviposition on toxic tuliptrees have been minimal (relative to other factors) in Alaska and somewhat stronger in the Great Lakes hybrid zone. It is in this zone of contact with tuliptree where selection against theP. canadensis populations ovipositing on tuliptree may be strong due to high larval mortality when such natural “mistakes” are made. We do not know whether behavioral preference changes evolutionarily preceded or followed the development of specific physiological detoxication abilities for tuliptree or quaking aspen. However, for bothP. canadensis andP. glaucus the occurrence of “oviposition mistakes” on toxic plants by adults extends geographically well beyond the larval detoxication abilities of their offspring. Hybrid female offspring of pairings with Michigancanadensis females andglaucus males show distinct preferences for tuliptree, suggesting that oviposition may be controlled by a factor (or factors) on the sex chromosome. Unfortunately we were unable to obtain reciprocal hybrids to evaluate the possibility of sex-linked aspen preference.