Sudden Appearance and Population Outbreak of Eunica monima (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) on Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico

cc-by-nc We documented the appearance and elevated abundance of the uncommon dingy purplewing butterfly, Eunica monima (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), and pronounced herbivory on its host plant Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg. (Burseraceae) shortly after island-wide rat (Rattus rattus [L.]; Muridae)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Florida Entomologist
Main Authors: Shiels, Aaron B., Haines, William P., Swinnerton, Kirsty J., Silander, Susan, Figuerola-Hernández, Cielo, Will, David, García-Cancel, Juan G. (TTU), Torres-Santana, Christian W.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
Bursera simaruba
caterpillar-butterfly irruption
Eunica tatila
insect herbivory
predator-prey interaction
Rattus rattus eradication
Rattus rattus
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2346/96119
https://doi.org/10.1653/024.100.0127
Description
Summary:cc-by-nc We documented the appearance and elevated abundance of the uncommon dingy purplewing butterfly, Eunica monima (Stoll) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), and pronounced herbivory on its host plant Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg. (Burseraceae) shortly after island-wide rat (Rattus rattus [L.]; Muridae) removal from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. We confirmed the species as E. monima by using both molecular and morphological analyses of larvae and adults. This is a first-time record of E. monima for the island of Desecheo, one of relatively few documented appearances in Puerto Rico during the last 100 yr, and an uncommon documentation of an outbreak of this species in the Caribbean. Although experimental manipulation would be needed to identify the cause of the E. monima population outbreak, we discuss possible cause-and-effect scenarios.

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