Abstract
Flavonol glycosides that act as oviposition stimulants for monarch butterflies were surveyed from a range of asclepiad hosts and some nonhosts. Major stimulants also were identified as quercetin-3-O-(2″-O-β-xylosyl)-β-D-galactoside and quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside from Asclepias syriaca and A. incarnata, respectively. The flavonol glycosides in A. curassavica, A. tuberosa, A. incarnata, A. syriaca, A. humistrata, A. albicans, A. eriocarpa, Calotropis procera, Cynanchum acutum, Vincetoxicum (Cynanchum) nigrum and in nonhosts Hoya australis and Nerium oleander were compared and characterized by HPLC and spectral studies. There was great variation in quercetin glycoside content. On the basis of the sugar moieties attached to quercetin, the asclepiad glycosides were classified broadly as those containing: (1) galactose, glucose, and rhamnose; (2) galactose, glucose, and xylose; and (3) galactose, glucose, xylose, and rhamnose. In most cases, galactose was attached to the 3-O-position (1″) of quercetin and other sugars were attached either to the 2″ or 6″ position of galactose. The sugars of triglycosides were attached at both 2″ and 6″ positions. A geographical pattern of flavonol distribution that may have affected the evolution of host recognition by the butterflies is suggested.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Ackery, P. R., and Vane-Wright, R. I. 1984. Milkweed Butterflies. British Museum, London, pp. 201–205.
Baur, R., Haribal, M., Renwick, J. A. A., and StÄdler, E. 1997. Contact chemoreception related to oviposition behavior in the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Physiol. Entomol. In press.
Brower, L. P. 1995. Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly (Nymphalidae) in North America: 1857–1995. J. Lepid. Soc. 49:304–385.
Good, R. 1952. An atlas of the asclepiadaceae. The New Phytologist. 51:198–209.
Harborne, J. B. 1973. Phytochemical Methods: A Guide to Modern Techniques of Plant Analysis. Chapman and Hall, London, 216 pp.
Haribal, M., and Renwick, J. A. A. 1996. Oviposition stimulants for the monarch butterfly: Flavonol glycosides from Asclepias curassavica. Phytochemistry 41:139–144.
Larsen, L. M., Nielsen, J. K., and SØrensen, H. (1982). Identification of 3-O-[2-O-(β-D-xylopyranosyl)-β-D-galactopyranosyl] flavoids in horse radish leaves acting as feeding stimulants for flea beetle, Phytochemistry 21:1029–1033.
Liede, S., and Albers, F. 1994. Tribal disposition of genera in the Asclepiadaceae. Taxon 43:201–231.
Mossa, J. S., Tariq, M., Moshin, A., Ageel, A. M., Al-Yahya, M. A., Al-Said, M. S., and Rafatullah, S. 1991. Pharmacological studies on aerial parts of Calotropis procera. Am. J. Chin. Med. 19:223–231.
Nishida, R. 1995. Oviposition stimulants of swallowtail butterflies, pp. 17–26, in J. M. Scriber, Y. Tsubaki, and R. C. Lederhouse (eds.). Swallowtail Butterflies: Their Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Scientific Publishers.
Rahaman, M. A., and Wilcock, C. C. 1991. A report on flavonoid investigation in some Bangladesh asclepiads. Bangladesh J. Bot. 20:175–178.
Sheeley, S. E., and Raynal, D. J. 1996. The distribution and status of species of Vincetoxicum in North America. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club. 123:148–156.
Siegel, S., and Castellan, J. N. 1988. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 87.
Webby, R. F., and Markham, K. R. 1990. Flavonol 3-O-triglycosides from Actinida species. Phytochemistry 29:289–292.
Woodson, R. E., Jr. 1954. The North American species of Asclepias L. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 41:1–211.
Wyatt, R., and Hunt, D. M. 1991. Hybridization in North American Asclepias. II. Flavonoid evidence. Syst. Bot. 16:132–142.
Zalucki, M. P., Brower, L. P., and Malcolm, S. B. 1990. Oviposition by Danaus plexippus in relation to cardenolide content of three Asclepias species in southeastern U.S.A. Ecol. Entomol. 15:231–240.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haribal, M., Renwick, J.A.A. Identification and Distribution of Oviposition Stimulants for Monarch Butterflies in Hosts and Nonhosts. J Chem Ecol 24, 891–904 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022377618562
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022377618562