Cannibalism of Pupae by Caterpillars of the Ranchman's Tiger Moth, Arctia Virginalis, (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)

While once dismissed as an artifact of unnatural laboratory conditions, cannibalism is now widely accepted as a common behavior exhibited by multiple insect taxa, including primarily herbivorous species. In some cases cannibalism provides a means of acquiring nutrients and defensive compounds, reduc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American midland naturalist 2019-01, Vol.181 (1), p.139-142
Main Authors: Grof-Tisza, Patrick, Pepi, Adam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal cannibalism
Arctia
Butterflies & moths
Cannibalism
Caterpillars
Containers
Ecological effects
Ecology
Eggs
Erebidae
Experiments
Field tests
Food
Food quality
Herbivores
Humidity
Insects
Laboratories
Lepidoptera
Noctuoidea
NOTES AND DISCUSSION PIECE
Nutrients
Pests
Planting density
Plants (Organisms)
Population biology
Population density
Pupae
Zoological research
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Summary:While once dismissed as an artifact of unnatural laboratory conditions, cannibalism is now widely accepted as a common behavior exhibited by multiple insect taxa, including primarily herbivorous species. In some cases cannibalism provides a means of acquiring nutrients and defensive compounds, reducing competition, and decreasing population density. For plants, inducing insect cannibalism is a defense mechanism to decrease damage by pests. Despite the growing awareness of cannibalism, its causes, and its ecological importance, few model systems exist, largely because observations of cannibalism are not reported. Here, we investigated the cannibalism of pupae by caterpillars of the ranchman's tiger moth, Arctia virginalis, [Lepidoptera: Erebidae] based on an observation of a late instar caterpillar attacking the pupa of a conspecific in our laboratory. We conducted separate laboratory and field experiments to confirm this observation and determine the propensity for cannibalism under more natural conditions. We confirmed our observation of cannibalism in the laboratory experiment but failed to detect evidence of this behavior in the field. Consequently, the frequency of cannibalism, the conditions under which it occurs, and its impact on the population dynamics of A. virginalis are still unknown.
ISSN:0003-0031
1938-4238
DOI:10.1674/0003-0031-181.1.139