Oviposition preferences of <i>Maculinea alcon</i> as influenced by aphid ( <i>Aphis gentianae</i> ) and fungal ( <i>Puccinia gentianae</i> ) infestation of larval host plants

Abstract

Abstract 1. The influence of infestation of the larval host plant Gentiana cruciata on the egg‐laying preferences of the xerophilous ecotype of Alcon Blue butterfly ( Maculinea alcon ) was studied in a semi‐dry grassland area (Aggtelek Karst Region, Northern Hungary). 2. We examined whether oviposition patterns of females differed when G. cruciata stems were uninfested compared with when they were infested by an aphid ( Aphis gentianae ) or a rust ( Puccinia gentianae ) species. 3. Females laid more than 90% of their eggs on fertile, uninfested G. cruciata stems, although these stems comprised only ∼ 50% of the total stems available. Stems infested by aphids were similar to uninfested ones in properties that had a strong correlation with egg numbers, and yet there were significantly fewer eggs on infested stems than on intact ones. 4. Females never laid eggs on parts of Gentiana stems infested by aphids, and the presence of Lasius paralienus ants, which have a mutualistic interaction with Aphis gentianae , did not increase the repulsive effect of aphids. Infection of Gentiana by Puccinia did not influence the egg‐laying behaviour of females, even though the flowers and buds of infested stems exhibited a delayed development. 5. Aphid infestation can influence butterfly oviposition patterns through both direct and indirect effects. The presence of aphids directly excluded oviposition, but our data also indicated the possibility of an indirect effect of aphid infestation. Stems that had no aphids at the last egg counting, but were infested prior to it, had significantly fewer eggs than those that were never infested.