Summary
Starting from permanent resting sites covered with silk, the solitary and territorial larvae of I. podalirius spin silk trails leading to feeding sites. It is shown that the silk contains a volatile trail marker. The larvae recognize their own trails and prefer them to those laid by conspecific caterpillars. Trail marking appears to be widespread among larvae of Lepidoptera.
Zusammenfassung
Die solitär lebenden, territorialen Raupen von I. podalirius spinnen, ausgehend von festen, mit Seide besponnenen Ruheplätzen, Seidespuren zu ihren Futterstellen. Es wird gezeigt, dsBsB die Seide einen flüchtigen Spurmarkierungsstoff enthält. Die Raupen erkennen ihre eigenen Spuren und ziehen sie den Spuren von Artgenossen vor. Die Möglichkeit, daß Spurmarkierung unter den Entwicklungsstadien von Schmetterlingen weiter verbreitet sein könnte, wird diskutiert.
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References
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Weyh, R., Maschwitz, U. Individual trail marking by larvae of the scarce swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius L. (Lepidoptera; Papilionidae). Oecologia 52, 415–416 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367969
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00367969