Published August 15, 2022
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The first record of the parasitic myrmecophilous caterpillar Liphyra brassolis (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) inside Asian weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) nests in oil palm plantations
Creators
- 1. Smart Research Institute, Pekanbaru, Indonesia|Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
- 2. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia|Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, United Kingdom
- 3. School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden Penang, Penang, Malaysia
- 4. Smart Research Institute, Pekanbaru, Indonesia
- 5. Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská 1160/31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic|School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
Description
Asian weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are an important biocontrol agent in agricultural habitats. We conducted surveys in oil palm plantations in Riau, Indonesia for an obligate myrmecophilous butterfly larvae, Liphyra brassolis (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae), that is known to consume weaver ant larvae in other habitat types. We found L. brassolis larvae in five of the twenty nests surveyed, with larval presence not being related to weaver ant nest size. We also observed L. brassolis larvae in a weaver ant mass rearing facility. This is the first report of L. brassolis from oil palm plantations and may have implications for the use of weaver ants as biological control agents.
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