Seasonal plasticity in morphology and metabolism differs between migratory North American and resident Costa Rican monarch butterflies

Resting Metabolic Rate Does Not Predict Peak Metabolic Rate in the Glanville Fritillary Butterfly

Peak metabolic rate reflects maximal performance and may have direct fitness consequences, whereas resting metabolic rate (RMR) represents the maintenance cost of the whole animal. These traits may be linked, which has significant implications for the evolution of both traits. In vertebrates, a positive correlation between RMR and aerobic capacity has been proposed to explain the origin of endothermy. However, as studies on the relationship between RMR and aerobic capacity have focused on vertebrates, we know much less about these traits in ectothermic insects. I measured RMR in the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) using two configurations: one optimized for measuring flight metabolic rate and the other optimized for RMR. The relationship between RMR and body mass was similar for the two configurations. Body mass explained 82% of the variation in RMR when it was measured using the "flight" configuration at 32°C, and 91% when using the "rest" configuration at 23°C. The Q10 coefficient calculated based on the two RMR measurements was 2.8. Mass-independent RMR was positively correlated between measurements obtained using the two instrument configurations. However, neither measure of RMR was correlated with peak metabolic rate, which indicates that RMR cannot be used as a surrogate measure for aerobic capacity in the Glanville fritillary. Ectothermic insects may be able to combine high metabolic capacity with no apparent increase in maintenance cost. Even though RMR is among the most frequently measured physiological variables, it may have limited predictive power when it comes to questions related to activity or aerobic capacity, or in the case of butterflies, flight performance.

Flight behaviour diverges more between seasonal forms than between species in Pieris butterflies

In flying animals, wing morphology is typically assumed to influence flight behaviours. Whether seasonal polymorphism in butterfly morphology is linked to adaptive flight behaviour remains unresolved. Here, we compare the flight behaviours and wing morphologies of the spring and summer forms of two closely related butterfly species, Pieris napi and P. rapae. We first quantify three-dimensional flight behaviour by reconstructing individual flight trajectories using stereoscopic high-speed videography in an experimental outdoor cage. We then measure wing size and shape, which are characteristics assumed to influence flight behaviours in butterflies. We show that seasonal, but not interspecific, differences in flight behaviour might be associated with divergent forewing shapes. During spring, Pieris individuals are small and have elongated forewings, and generally fly at low speed and acceleration, while having a high flight curvature. On the contrary, summer individuals are larger and exhibit rounded forewings. They fly at high speed and acceleration, while having high turning acceleration and advance ratio. Our study provides one of the first quantitative pieces of evidence of different flight behaviours between seasonal forms of two Pieris butterfly species. We discuss the possibility that this co-divergence in flight behaviour and morphology is an adaptation to distinct seasonal environments. Properly identifying the mechanisms underpinning such divergence, nonetheless, requires further investigations to disentangle the interacting effects of microhabitats, predator community, parasitoid pressure and behavioural differences between sexes.

Modular switches shift monarch butterfly migratory flight behavior at their Mexican overwintering sites

Eastern North American migratory monarch butterflies exhibit migratory behavioral states in fall and spring characterized by sun-dependent oriented flight. However, it is unclear how monarchs transition between these behavioral states at their overwintering site. Using a modified Mouritsen-Frost flight simulator, we confirm individual directionality and compass-based orientation (leading to group orientation) in fall migrants, and also uncover sustained flight propensity and direction-based flight reinforcement as distinctly migratory behavioral traits. By testing monarchs at their Mexican overwintering sites, we show that overwintering monarchs show reduced propensity for sustained flight and lose individual directionality, leading to the loss of group-level orientation. Overwintering fliers orient axially in a time-of-day dependent manner, which may indicate local versus long-distance directional heading. These results support a model of migratory flight behavior in which modular, state-dependent switches for flight propensity and orientation control are highly dynamic and are controlled in season- and location-dependent manners.

Environmental and genetic effects of captivity - are there lessons for monarch butterfly conservation?

Rearing monarch butterflies in captivity for later release is a popular but contentious activity due to concerns about its potential negative effects on the wild population. In this review, I discuss how captive rearing and breeding could impact monarch fitness in the wild, the current evidence for such impacts in monarchs and other captive-reared/released organisms, and how this should inform our efforts to conserve monarchs and other species.

Extent and impacts of winter breeding in the North American monarch butterfly

Since the 1960s, scientists have observed the North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) continuing reproductive activities past the fall migration and into the winter months when the climate is mild. Recent work suggests that small populations of winter breeding monarchs are present in western and southeastern USA, as well as northwestern Mexico, with new winter breeding populations forming in areas where non-native milkweeds are planted. The year-round presence of milkweed plants and temperatures suitable for immature monarch development are vital factors allowing for winter breeding. Non-native milkweeds, in conjunction with novel barriers to migration, are likely contributing to the rise in winter breeding behavior. Warmer climates are already impacting milkweed phenology and range, possibly favoring winter breeding behavior. Similar pressures but different implications are expected for eastern and western winter breeding monarchs given the differences in the migration ecology, milkweed species, and climate changes in the two regions.

Neural representation of goal direction in the monarch butterfly brain

Neural processing of a desired moving direction requires the continuous comparison between the current heading and the goal direction. While the neural basis underlying the current heading is well-studied, the coding of the goal direction remains unclear in insects. Here, we used tetrode recordings in tethered flying monarch butterflies to unravel how a goal direction is represented in the insect brain. While recording, the butterflies maintained robust goal directions relative to a virtual sun. By resetting their goal directions, we found neurons whose spatial tuning was tightly linked to the goal directions. Importantly, their tuning was unaffected when the butterflies changed their heading after compass perturbations, showing that these neurons specifically encode the goal direction. Overall, we here discovered invertebrate goal-direction neurons that share functional similarities to goal-direction cells reported in mammals. Our results give insights into the evolutionarily conserved principles of goal-directed spatial orientation in animals.