2 research outputs found
Maculinea nausithous exploits Myrmica scabrinodis in Transylvania: unusual host ant species of a myrmecophilous butterfly in an isolated region (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae; Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Isolated populations of the myrmecophilous Dusky Large Blue butterfly
(Maculinea nausithous) occur in Transylvania (Romania). The hitherto unknown
host ant specificity of these populations was investigated at two sites,
where Myrmica scabrinodis was the only potential host ant found. A total of
107 M. scabrinodis nests were opened in early summer to check for the presence
of M. nausithous larvae, and two of them contained overwintered larvae.
Our observations suggest that, like the habitat, the host ant of these isolated
populations essentially differs from other central European M. nausithous
populations studied, which use exclusively Myrmica rubra