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Notas sobre el comportamiento y la migración de Urania fulgens (Lepidoptera: Uranidae) en Costa Rica

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Ricardo Murillo at University of Costa Rica
Ricardo Murillo
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Abstract

Observations on U. fulgens behavior were done in Costa Rica during a mass migration in 2005; notes on the behavior of a non-migratory population are also documented. Tapantí National Park seems to be a possible destiny for the migrating butterflies. A new possible larval food plant is recorded.
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Nota Científica
NOTAS SOBRE EL COMPORTAMIENTO Y LA MIGRACIÓN
DE URANIA FULGENS (LEPIDOPTERA: URANIIDAE)
EN COSTA RICA
ABSTRACT.Observations on U. fulgens behavior were done in Costa Rica during a mass migration in 2005; notes
on the behavior of a non-migratory population are also documented. Tapantí National Park seems to be a possible
destiny for the migrating butterflies. Anew possible larval food plant is recorded.
Durante años se ha observado la migración de la mariposa Urania fulgens (L.) en
Costa Rica. Sin embargo, no todos los años es igual de evidente pues ocurre con
diferentes intensidades.
La distribución de las poblaciones está determinada por la presencia de su planta
hospedera Omphalea spp. (Euphorbiaceae) (Smith 1983. Florida Entomol. 66(1)76-85). La
descripción de los estados inmaduros está detallada en Smith (1992. In: Insects of Panama
and Mesoamérica: 576-593).
Las migraciones de U. fulgens han sido estudiadas por Smith (1983. Florida Entomol.
66(1)76-85) en Panamá, quien propone que las migraciones están determinadas por
ciclos de toxicidad alta y baja de la planta hospedera. Los niveles de la toxina, a su
vez, se ven estimulados por el ataque de las larvas a sus hojas, resultando en un ciclo
con media de 5.8 años entre cada migración masiva (Smith 1983. Florida Entomol. 66(1)76-
85). Sin embargo, este patrón puede variar con las condiciones particulares de cada
año.
U. fulgentes no es muy abundante en Costa Rica cuando no se encuentra
realizando movimientos migratorios, e incluso cuando lo esta, la mayoría de los años
se observan pocos. En Costa Rica, U. fulgens posee poblaciones no migratorias por
debajo de los 600 m. de altitud en toda la vertiente Atlántica y en el centro y sur de
la vertiente Pacífica. Los adultos se pueden encontrar usualmente en hábitats
húmedos, volando entre la vegetación densa. Alos machos se les puede observar
tomando agua o absorbiendo minerales durante los días calientes en los charcos en
las calles y en arena a la orilla de los ríos. Para descansar los adultos se posan en la
cara adaxial de las hojas, con la cabeza apuntando hacia abajo y con las alas
completamente abiertas.
Entre julio y septiembre de 2005 ocurrió en Costa Rica una migración masiva de
U. fulgens. Los individuos pudieron ser observados en su paso por la mayor parte del
país. Para determinar su dirección se tomaron veinte puntos distribuidos en los
alrededores de la ciudad de San José y se determinó que al atravesar esta zona los
individuos viajan en dirección sur – este. Además se tomaron tres puntos fuera del
valle central, uno en Río Frío de Sarapiquí, otro en el Parque Nacional Braulio
Carrillo y un último en el Parque Nacional Tapantí. En estos puntos también se
239
Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.) 24(1): 239-241 (2008)
mantenía el mismo rumbo que en San José excepto en el de Tapantí, donde no se
observo una dirección definida. Durante esta migración se observaron adultos de U.
fulgens alimentándose de flores de Inga spp. (Mimosaceae), C roton spp.
(Euphorbiaceae), Lantana camara ( Verbenaceae) y Acnistus arbore s c e n s
(Solanaceae).
Durante los meses de migración se podían observar miles de individuos en el
Parque Nacional Tapantí, a una altura de entre 1200 y 2000 m.s.n.m. Sin embargo, a
estos individuos no se les observó volar en la dirección acostumbrada, ellos solo
permanecían ahí alimentándose de flores de Inga sp. Es cuestionable si no se tratará
entonces de un destino para la migración, y talvez como este, hay más sitios-destino
desconocidos en las montañas de Centroamérica, con suficientes árboles en floración
para sostener los millones de individuos, que serían los mismos en regresar a su
origen en las tierras bajas en el año siguiente. Esto nos hace cuestionar ¿porqué en
otros lugares similares como en el Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, los individuos
solo pasan volando sin parar para alimentarse?
En los alrededores de Tapantí también se observó que durante la noche los adultos
visitaban las luces de las casas y alumbrados públicos, comportamiento también
reportado en Belice (Merman & Boomsma 1997. News Lep. Soc. 39: 8-9; Calhoun 1999. News
Lep. Soc. 41: 10). Una posible explicación de esto es que al haber una densidad de
individuos tal alta, existe mucha probabilidad de que algunos de ellos sean asustados
mientras duermen, y al tratar de huir vuelen hacia las fuentes de iluminación, como
ocurre con algunas mariposas diurnas, sin que esto signifique que U. fulgens tenga
actividad nocturna.
En Costa Rica ocurrió una migración de grandes proporciones en 1995 la cual
coincidió con la de Belice (Merman & Boomsma 1997. News Lep. Soc. 39: 8-9). Podría ser
que exista algún factor que estimule la migración de forma coordinada en
Centroamérica e inclusive con U. leilus en Suramérica. Hasta el momento
únicamente se ha mencionado que los factores que incitan a una migración de este
tipo son las fluctuaciones de toxicidad de la planta hospedera y la falta de flores para
la alimentación de grandes cantidades de adultos en las localidades no migratorias
(Smith 1983. Florida Entomol. 66: 76-85).
Otro fenómeno que ocurre en Costa Rica pero que no es detectado por la mayoría
de las personas es el retorno de U. fulgens en dirección Norte – oeste. Todos los años
un pequeño grupo de individuos cruza el valle central durante los meses de marzo y
abril, en dirección opuesta a la de agosto y septiembre. Durante marzo del 2006 fueron
observadas U. fulgens siguiendo esta ruta, la frecuencia alcanzó los 20 individuos por
minuto en algunos días. Parece que entre mas grande es la migración durante agosto,
mayor será la cantidad de individuos que regresaran en marzo del año próximo. En
Panamá la migración tiene una dirección de oeste a este durante agosto y de este a oeste
durante marzo (Smith 1992. In: Insects of Panama and Mesoamerica: 576-593).
240
Otra observación importante realizada por Roger Davis, un naturalista local, fue
que cientos de larvas de U. fulgens se estuvieron alimentando de las hojas de yuca,
Manihot sculenta, planta que al igual que Omphalea spp, su hospedera típica,
pertenece a la familia Euphorbiaceae, en un cultivo local en la costa atlántica de
Costa Rica. Posteriormente los adultos emergidos emigraron. Esto podría ser el
resultado de que la intensa deforestación que probablemente ha disminuido la
abundancia de Omphalea en los ecosistemas, ha favorecido el uso de otras plantas
hospederas en las hembras de esta especie.
Luis Ricardo Murillo-Hiller
Museo de Insectos (CIPROC) Escuela de Agronomía Universidad de Costa Rica.
murillo.luis@lycos.com
241
Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.) 24(1) (2008)
... is the case of the migration of the diurnal moths of the genus Urania (Geometroidea: Uraniidae). Despite descriptive reports of their spectacular migrations (Dudley & DeVries, 1990;Murillo-Hiller, 2008;Smith, 1992), movements of these moths have never attracted the same attention that other insects have. The three species of Urania moths (U. fulgens, U. leilus and U. boisduvalii) are Neotropical, with diurnal habits, and their larvae feed on plants of the genus Omphalea exclusively (Lees & Smith, 1991;Nuñez-Penichet & Barro, 2020;Palomeque Morales, 1988;Smith, 1983Smith, , 1991Smith, , 1992. ...
... However, the role that plant defences play in the dynamics of the migration of this moth is still insipient. All species of Urania have been observed to disperse long distances (Barro & Rodríguez, 2005;Lees & Smith, 1991;Meerman & Boomsma, 1997;Murillo-Hiller, 2008;Smith, 1972Smith, , 1983Smith, , 1991Williams, 1937Williams, , 1958Young, 1970), but there is not a detailed characterization of these species' oscillatory movements, and the dispersal routes are poorly understood (Nuñez-Penichet et al., 2019). Using ecological niche modelling tools, we previously estimated potential paths of movements of U. boisduvalii in Cuba (Nuñez-Penichet et al., 2019). ...
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... These moths feed during their larval stages exclusively on plants of the genus Omphalea (Smith 1983, Lees and Smith 1991, Smith 1991, Smith 1992, Nuñez-Penichet and Barro 2020 with no reported preference for a particular species of these plants. The distribution of Urania species has been described in several observational studies (Williams 1937, Williams 1958, Young 1970, Smith 1972, Smith 1983, Lees and Smith 1991, Smith 1991, Meerman and Boomsma 1997, Barro and Rodríguez 2005, Murillo-Hiller 2008. Recently, Nuñez-Penichet et al. (2019) used an ecological niche modeling approach to characterize the potential distribution and migratory routes of U. boisduvalii, which is endemic to Cuba, but no similar studies exist for the two continental species of this genus. ...
... Observations of individuals of the Urania genus have been reported in the literature at elevations ranging from 0 -1,200 m ( Rodríguez 2005, Murillo-Hiller 2008), with the highest elevation recorded at 2,430, according to data from GBIF (Antioquia, Colombia). These observations suggest that even for these moths, which are strong fliers that can move long distances (Dudley and DeVries 1990, Smith 1992, Murillo-Hiller 2008, the Andes mountain range may represent a dispersal barrier. This also coincides with reports by Smith (1972) as well as Nazari et al. (2016). ...
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Larvae of Urania moths feed exclusively on Omphalea plants, which are widely distributed in the Neotropics. However, the distributions of the two Urania species in this region are disjunct. This distributional pattern could derive from the presence of the Andes, but it could also be related to differences in ecological niches, the presence of negative interactions, or the absence of conditions that can only be observed at a habitat level. We tested whether differences in the ecological niches of continental Urania moths play a role in their disjunct distribution. Using species records and climatic variables, we characterized the ecological niches of Urania moths and their host plants and analyzed the overlap of the moths’ niches. Using ecoregions as a proxy of habitat-level environmental conditions, we explored the role of host plant availability on the moth distributions. Suitable conditions for the species were widespread, with a lack of suitability mostly restricted to the Andean highlands. The two-moth distributions were closely related to that of their host plants. There was medium-high overlap of niche models when available conditions were considered; however, niche overlap was not found to be statistically significant. Our results corroborate the barrier effect of the Andes on the dispersal of these moths, but they also show that niche differences contribute to the disjunct distributions of U. fulgens and U. leilus. Furthermore, other non-climatic factors appear to play a crucial role in the disjunction of the species ranges in areas where overlapping suitable conditions are continuous. Our findings support speciation in Urania moths as allopatric and indicate that their disjunct distributions can be attributed to multiple factors. Other studies exploring the causes of similar distributional patterns should consider that a single factor may not be enough to explain such patterns.
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... Further investigations might be helpful to answer this question. Additional information about the ecology of U. fulgens was published earlier (van der Heyden, 2006Heyden, , 2009Murillo-Hiller, 2008). ...
... In the last two decades, migrations in 1995, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2009 were reported from Costa Rica. The migration in 2005 was extremely massive lasting from July until September and could be observed in most parts of the country (van der Heyden, 2006Heyden, , 2009Murillo-Hiller, 2008). ...
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Two recent migrations of Urania fulgens (Walker, 1854) (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae) in Costa Rica are reported. Additional information about the ecology and the distribution of this species is also given.
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... Some of the potential migratory routes cross areas above 1,000 m, elevations at which no individuals of this species have been recorded (Aborrezco, 1995;Barro, 2006;Barro & Rodríguez, 2005;Lees & Smith, 1991). However, U. f. fulgens has been reported at elevations ranging from 3 to 1,000 m (Williams, 1937) and even up to 2,000 m of altitude (Murillo-Hiller, 2008). Another migratory Lepidoptera, Danaus plexippus, can also fly at higher elevations than normal during migration when the wind direction is favourable (Gibo, 1981). ...
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Aim Migratory species depend on various habitats and resources along their migration routes. Characteristics such as dependence on distinct habitats and the presence of multiple threats along their migratory routes make these species vulnerable, and gaps in knowledge about their ecology and migration processes make them difficult to conserve. Urania boisduvalii is a diurnal moth endemic to Cuba that feeds on plants of Omphalea spp. during its larval phases. These plants produce secondary metabolites as a defence against the moth's larvae, which then are forced to migrate. Although some ecological aspects of Urania boisduvalii are known, its migration routes remain largely unknown. This research proposes potential migratory routes of Urania boisduvalii among populations of its host plant. Location Cuba. Methods We developed ecological niche models of the moth and its hosts based on environmental, anthropic, biotic and biogeographic factors to obtain potential distributional areas that include zones where positive interactions are found but exclude those where negative factors are present. These areas were overlapped to hypothesize potential breeding areas for the moths. Potential migratory corridors were proposed based on environmental connectivity. Results The moth and its hosts have broad potential distributions; however, limiting factors have substantially reduced these areas, especially for plants. The potential migratory routes of Urania boisduvalii are complex and mostly involve the western and eastern regions of Cuba. Most records outside potential breeding areas were close to these migratory corridors. Main conclusions We offer initial hypotheses of the migratory routes of U. boisduvalii, which may be useful to guiding monitoring projects that can provide more definitive views of the seasonal distribution of this species across the Cuban archipelago.
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... Ej. Las migraciones que incluimos son aquellas que son a nivel de la vía como la de la mariposa Urania fulgens (Murillo-Hiller, 2008) y los cangrejos terrestres. ...
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