Similarities between Troidini and Zerynthiini

[Crake]

Hi all.

Please humor this question; I'm mostly unfamiliar with the phylogeny of Papilionidae and am not a trained geneticist. 

I've been curious about the genetic relationship between the tribes Troidini and Zerynthiini. A while ago, I noticed the especially striking resemblance that the larvae of Sericinus bear to those of Battus.

Here is a comparison photo of Serinicus montela (left) and Battus philenor:



Both larvae feed on Aristolochia and are gregarious during the first instars.
 
From the cladograms I've seen, both Troidini and Zerynthiini appear to be very distantly related but are the only two Papilionidae groups that utilize Aristolochia as their hosts. Is this a case of convergent evolution? 

[mikeh]

I believe Archon in Luehdorfiini also uses Aristolochia and other species in that tribe use something in Aristolochiaceae. I have heard it said that it is likely due to a papilioniidae ancestor using Aristolochia but I am not sure that is widely accepted or testable.

[Crake]

Dec 2, 2021 16:54:58 GMT -8 mikeh said:

I believe Archon in Luehdorfiini also uses Aristolochia and other species in that tribe use something in Aristolochiaceae. I have heard it said that it is likely due to a papilioniidae ancestor using Aristolochia but I am not sure that is widely accepted or testable.

You're right, I did leave out Archon. Also, I found that A Guide to the Genera and Species of Parnassiinae (Ackery, 1975) and Journal of Xinyang Teachers College
(Natural Science Edition) Vol. 13 No. 1 (Jan. 2000), both indicate Aristolochia debilis as a host for Parnassius glacialis.

[Adam Cotton]

Try this paper:

doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20507-3

Genome-wide macroevolutionary signatures of key innovations in butterflies colonizing new host plants

The mega-diversity of herbivorous insects is attributed to their co-evolutionary associations with plants. Despite abundant studies on insect-plant interactions, we do not know whether host-plant shifts have impacted both genomic adaptation and species diversification over geological times. We show that the antagonistic insect-plant interaction between swallowtail butterflies and the highly toxic birthworts began 55 million years ago in Beringia, followed by several major ancient host-plant shifts. This evolutionary framework provides a valuable opportunity for repeated tests of genomic signatures of macroevolutionary changes and estimation of diversification rates across their phylogeny. We find that host-plant shifts in butterflies are associated with both genome-wide adaptive molecular evolution (more genes under positive selection) and repeated bursts of speciation rates, contributing to an increase in global diversification through time. Our study links ecological changes, genome-wide adaptations and macroevolutionary consequences, lending support to the importance of ecological interactions as evolutionary drivers over long time periods.

[Crake]

Dec 3, 2021 10:18:30 GMT -8 Adam Cotton said:

Try this paper:

doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20507-3

Genome-wide macroevolutionary signatures of key innovations in butterflies colonizing new host plants

The mega-diversity of herbivorous insects is attributed to their co-evolutionary associations with plants. Despite abundant studies on insect-plant interactions, we do not know whether host-plant shifts have impacted both genomic adaptation and species diversification over geological times. We show that the antagonistic insect-plant interaction between swallowtail butterflies and the highly toxic birthworts began 55 million years ago in Beringia, followed by several major ancient host-plant shifts. This evolutionary framework provides a valuable opportunity for repeated tests of genomic signatures of macroevolutionary changes and estimation of diversification rates across their phylogeny. We find that host-plant shifts in butterflies are associated with both genome-wide adaptive molecular evolution (more genes under positive selection) and repeated bursts of speciation rates, contributing to an increase in global diversification through time. Our study links ecological changes, genome-wide adaptations and macroevolutionary consequences, lending support to the importance of ecological interactions as evolutionary drivers over long time periods.

Thanks for the reference, Adam. This should be an interesting read.

[exoticimports]

Then read about inheritable genetics related to environmentally induced changes. It’s remarkable how butterflies can seemingly experiment, and certainly adapt.