(excerpt)
During the early afternoon of 25 August, 1977, a large European mantid, Mantis religiosa Linnaeus, was observed feeding on an adult male monarch butterfly, Donaus p. plexippus Linnaeus (Danaidae) while clinging to the flower head of a blazing star plant (Liatris sp.) on a cactus prairie at the Allegan State Game Area, Allegan County, Michigan

Leeuw, Irwin

English

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 11 
Number 4 - Winter 1978 Number 4 - Winter 
1978 
Article 9 
December 1978 
Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera 
Irwin Leeuw 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Leeuw, Irwin 1978. "Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 11 
(4) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol11/iss4/9 
This Entomological Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
262 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 11, No. 4 
wide. This note describes two occurrences of collecting numerous specimens of hexa- 
dacty la. 
On 21 and 23 July, 1976, hexadactyla was found in abundant numbers at Lost Lake 
in the Ledges State Park in Boone County, Iowa (a new county record). On the f i s t  
date, hexadactyla was noted on the surface of moist soil adjacent to the water after a 
seine had been brought to shore. About 20 immature mole crickets were observed. The 
disruption of the upper surface soil near the water line by the seine apparently dislodged 
numerous specimens. Most were about 15 mm long and attempted to  reburrow into the 
moist soil. On the second date, the soil near the shoreline was raked in a area of about 
9 m long by 0.3 m wide to a depth of about 20 to 4 0  mm. More than 5 0  immature mole 
crickets were immediately detected. Mixed with the moist soil that had settled on the 
shoreline was decaying duckweed, Lemna sp., and watermeal, Wolffzb sp. 
The conditions observed at  this collection site were likely typical of the genera1 
conditions required for successful development of northern mole crickets. The soil to  
about I m from the shoreline was moist but not saturated and wave action or moving 
water was not present Decaying organic debris, particularly duckweed and watermeal, 
provided satisfactory material for some food, and soil texture was favorable for easy and 
rapid burro wing. 
These observations may assist collectors in determining specific local collecting sites 
for hexadactyla. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Blatchley, W. S. 1920. Orthoptera of northeastern America Nature Publ. Co., Indian- 
apolis. 
Cantrall, I. J. 1943. The ecology of the Orthoptera and Dermaptera of the George 
Reserve, Michigan. Univ. Mich. Misc. Publ. No. 54. 
. 1968. An annotated list of the Dermaptera, Dictyoptera, Phasmatoptera, 
and Orthoptera of Michigan. Mich. Entomol. 1: 299-346. 
Froeschner, R. C. 1954. The grasshoppers and other Orthoptera of Iowa. Iowa State COIL 
J. of Sci. 29:326-327. 
J. R. DeWitt 
Department of Entomology 
Iowa State University of Science and Technology 
Ames. IA 50011 
TWO OBSERVATIONS OF PR!ZDATION ON LEPIDOPTERA 
During the early afternoon of 25 August, 1977, a large European mantid, Mantis 
religiosa Linnaeus, was observed feeding on an adult male monarch butterfly, Donaus p. 
plexippus Linnaeus (Danaidae) while clinging to the flower head of a blazing star plant 
(Liatris sp.) on a cactus prairie at the Allegan State Game Area, Allegan County, 
Michigan. The mantid had apparently seized its prey as it nectared on the flower, and 
had the monarch firmly clutched in its foreclaws and had nearly subdued it. The 
butterfly was the second victim of the mantid; a set of male monarch wings lay beneath 
the plant. 
The following morning, a few miles away in prairie habitat, I noticed a small noctuid 
moth. Anrotis ducens Walker, in an unusual position on another blazing s t a ~  plant The 
moth; a fresh male, was in contact with a tiny ambush bug, Phymafa em& L i i a e u s  The 
moth was already dead, and apparently was about to be eaten. 
I wish to thank Mogens C. Nielsen for aid in identifying the predators and the noctuid 
moth. All specimens are deposited in the Michigan State University Deparb-nent of 
Entomology collection. 
Irwin Leeuw 
1219 Crystal Lake Road 
Cary, IL 60013 
1
Leeuw: Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera
Published by ValpoScholar, 1978


Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 11 Number 4 - Winter 1978 Number 4 - Winter 1978 Article 9 December 1978 Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera Irwin Leeuw Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Leeuw, Irwin 1978. "Two Observations of Predation on Lepidoptera," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 11 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol11/iss4/9 This Entomological Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 262 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 11, No. 4 wide. This note describes two occurrences of collecting numerous specimens of hexa- dacty la. On 21 and 23 July, 1976, hexadactyla was found in abundant numbers at Lost Lake in the Ledges State Park in Boone County, Iowa (a new county record). On the f i s t  date, hexadactyla was noted on the surface of moist soil adjacent to the water after a seine had been brought to shore. About 20 immature mole crickets were observed. The disruption of the upper surface soil near the water line by the seine apparently dislodged numerous specimens. Most were about 15 mm long and attempted to  reburrow into the moist soil. On the second date, the soil near the shoreline was raked in a area of about 9 m long by 0.3 m wide to a depth of about 20 to 4 0  mm. More than 5 0  immature mole crickets were immediately detected. Mixed with the moist soil that had settled on the shoreline was decaying duckweed, Lemna sp., and watermeal, Wolffzb sp. The conditions observed at  this collection site were likely typical of the genera1 conditions required for successful development of northern mole crickets. The soil to  about I m from the shoreline was moist but not saturated and wave action or moving water was not present Decaying organic debris, particularly duckweed and watermeal, provided satisfactory material for some food, and soil texture was favorable for easy and rapid burro wing. These observations may assist collectors in determining specific local collecting sites for hexadactyla. LITERATURE CITED Blatchley, W. S. 1920. Orthoptera of northeastern America Nature Publ. Co., Indian- apolis. Cantrall, I. J. 1943. The ecology of the Orthoptera and Dermaptera of the George Reserve, Michigan. Univ. Mich. Misc. Publ. No. 54. . 1968. An annotated list of the Dermaptera, Dictyoptera, Phasmatoptera, and Orthoptera of Michigan. Mich. Entomol. 1: 299-346. Froeschner, R. C. 1954. The grasshoppers and other Orthoptera of Iowa. Iowa State COIL J. of Sci. 29:326-327. J. R. DeWitt Department of Entomology Iowa State University of Science and Technology Ames. IA 50011 TWO OBSERVATIONS OF PR!ZDATION ON LEPIDOPTERA During the early afternoon of 25 August, 1977, a large European mantid, Mantis religiosa Linnaeus, was observed feeding on an adult male monarch butterfly, Donaus p. plexippus Linnaeus (Danaidae) while clinging to the flower head of a blazing star plant (Liatris sp.) on a cactus prairie at the Allegan State Game Area, Allegan County, Michigan. The mantid had apparently seized its prey as it nectared on the flower, and had the monarch firmly clutched in its foreclaws and had nearly subdued it. The butterfly was the second victim of the mantid; a set of male monarch wings lay beneath the plant. The following morning, a few miles away in prairie habitat, I noticed a small noctuid moth. Anrotis ducens Walker, in an unusual position on another blazing s t a ~  plant The moth; a fresh male, was in contact with a tiny ambush bug, Phymafa em& L i i a e u s  The moth was already dead, and apparently was about to be eaten. I wish to thank Mogens C. Nielsen for aid in identifying the predators and the noctuid moth. All specimens are deposited in the Michigan State University Deparb-nent of Entomology collection. Irwin Leeuw 1219 Crystal Lake Road Cary, IL 60013 1Leeuw: Two Observations of Predation on LepidopteraPublished by ValpoScholar, 1978

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