| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,170,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
For larvae of facultative myrmecophilous lycaenid butterflies, the mechanisms of chemical adaptation to circumvent ant predation and induce ant attending were investigated. Cuticular lipids of these larvae mainly consisted of linear alkanes and lacked mono-alkenes that strongly stimulated biting and attacking behavior from Formica japonica ants. Such cuticular lipid profiles would decrease the apparency of larvae toward ants and the predation risk by ants. Squalene secreted from tentacle organs of larvae was found to serve as a weak deterrent against ants. Lycaeides argyrognomom larvae have a dorsal nectar organ which secretes specific nectar containing 30 times higher sugar concentration than the nectar of Zizeeria maha larvae and including trisaccharides considered to be rare as natural resources. Since ants more preferentially tend L. argyrognomon than Z. maha, such sugar properties of larval nectar would contribute to attract ants and induce their long-time attending.
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