Parasitoids represent a diverse and little studied group of insects, employing variety of adaptations to utilize and kill their hosts. Among the unresolved issues related to the host-parasitoids interactions are responses of such interactions to global climate change, especially in cases specialized insect species adapted to cold environments such as alpine habitats. Example of such hosts are the Holarctic butterflies of the genus Erebia Dalman, 1986 (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) inhabiting mountains of Central Europe. The aim of this study was sampling caterpillars of lowland and mountain Satyrinae butterflies, rearing the caterpillars to determine the degree of infestation and determine the host specificity of parasitoids using combination of classical and molecular methods. I sampled 39 caterpillars of the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), seven caterpillars of the Mountain Ringlet (Erebia epiphron) and four caterpillars of the Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) at 14 habitats along the altitudinal gradient in Krkonoše Mountains. It was found more than a one-third parasitization by Ichneumon caloscelis among Maniola jurtina caterpillars and no parasitoids among the mountain species. It suggests the possibility of a higher rate of infestation among species living at lower altitudes than at higher altitudes. There are many factors affecting the parasitization's rate among butterflies. This issue requires further monitoring. This study demonstrates the time-consuming sampling of solitary living caterpillars on common plants. Molecular determination of parasitoids using DNA barcoding is possible without major problems, but with certain restrictions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:174071 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | STUCHLOVÁ, Klára |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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