Sasakia Charonda (Apaturinae: Nymphalidae) and its Three Related Butterfly Larvae Use Halitosis to Repel Predators

Accidentally, we discovered that Sasakia charonda (Nymphalidae: Apaturinae) larvae disturbed by ants or humans released volatile compounds from their mouth; thus, we tried to identify these halitosis. We collected halitosis directly from the mouths of S. charonda larvae into volatile-collecting tubes. Trapped halitosis were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). We confirmed the identity of eleven substances by comparison to GC of known standards, and inferred them to be mainly alcohols and aldehydes/ketones, with main chains of 4–5 carbons. Three of the chemicals in these halitosis, 2-butanol, 1-penten-3-ol and 3-pentanone, affected the behavior of Pristomyrmex punctatus and Formica japonica ants that co-inhabited the S. charonda rearing cage. We concluded that the substances we identified in this study were used as defensive halitosis, analogous to osmeterium emissions specific to Papilionidae butterflies. Based on smell, Holikawa found that Hestina assimilis and H. persimilis larvae have closely related halitosis. Thus, we also analyzed the halitosis of these two species as well as Apatura metis, another Apaturinae, using the same methods. We found that these species also release halitosis. The composition of the substances of H. assimilis and H. persimilis were somewhat similar to that of S. charonda, whereas that of A. metis differed. Some of the substances also induced defensive behavior in these species of Apaturinae larvae.

Coloration principles of the Great purple emperor butterfly (Sasakia charonda)

The dorsal wings of male Sasakia charonda butterflies display a striking blue iridescent coloration, which is accentuated by white, orange-yellow and red spots, as well as by brown margins. The ventral wings also have a variegated, but more subdued, pattern. We investigated the optical basis of the various colors of intact wings as well as isolated wing scales by applying light and electron microscopy, imaging scatterometry and (micro)spectrophotometry. The prominent blue iridescence is due to scales with tightly packed, multilayered ridges that contain melanin pigment. The scales in the brown wing margins also contain melanin. Pigments extracted from the orange-yellow and red spots indicate the presence of 3-OH-kynurenine and ommochrome pigment. The scales in the white spots also have multilayered ridges but lack pigment. The lower lamina of the scales plays a so-far undervalued but often crucial role. Its thin-film properties color the majority of the ventral wing scales, which are unpigmented and have large windows. The lower lamina acting as a thin-film reflector generally contributes to the reflectance of the various scale types.

Orbus sasakiae sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from the gut of the butterfly Sasakia charonda, and emended description of the genus Orbus

A novel Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile and coccus-shaped bacterium, strain C7T, was isolated from the gut of the butterfly Sasakia charonda. Strain C7T grew optimally at 20–25 °C, at pH 7–8 and with 1 % (w/v) NaCl. The strain was negative for oxidase activity but positive for catalase activity. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strain C7T and Orbus hercynius CN3T shared 96.8 % similarity. The major fatty acids identified were C14 : 0, C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω7c and summed feature 2 (comprising C14 : 0 3-OH/iso-C16 : 1). The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8). The polar lipids of strain C7T were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, an unidentified phospholipid and two unidentified aminophospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA extracted from strain C7T was 32.1 mol%. Taken together, the phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses indicate that strain C7T represents a novel species of the genus Orbus , for which the name Orbus sasakiae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is C7T ( = KACC 16544T = JCM 18050T). An emended description of the genus Orbus is provided.

Apaturinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from the Korean Peninsula: Synonymic Lists and Keys to Tribes, Genera and Species

This paper provides keys to tribes, genera and species and synonymic lists for the 12 butterfly species belonging to eight genera of Apaturinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from the Korean Peninsula: Apatura ilia (Denis and Schiffermüller), Apatura metis Freyer, Apatura iris (Linnaeus), Hestina japonica (Felder and Felder), Hestina assimilis (Linnaeus), Sasakia charonda (Hewitson), Mimathyma schrenckii (Ménétriès), Mimathyma nycteis (Ménétriès), Sephisa princeps (Fixsen), Chitoria ulupi (Doherty), Dilipa fenestra (Leech) and Dichorragia nesimachus (Doyère). Species accounts include brief summaries of each taxon’s biology, taxonomy and life history. The distributional ranges of the Hestina persimilis species complex are discussed and illustrated.