• Title/Summary/Keyword: Mellicta ambigua

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Reports on bionomical characteristics of Mellicta ambigua (여름어리표범나비(Mellicta ambigua (Menetries))의 생태적 특성에 관한 보고)

  • Kim, Se-Gwon;Nam, Gyoung-Pil;Kim, Nam-Ee;Bae, Kyoung-Sin;Choi, Young-Cheol;Lee, Sang-Hyun
    • Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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    • v.52 no.2
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    • pp.110-116
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    • 2014
  • Recently the number of the butterflies, Mellicta ambigua, had been decreasing rapidly, and already disappeared at many habitat. In this studies, we investigated ecological environment of Mellicta ambigua for preparing of primary research data recovering habitat, and studied on bionomical characteristics. Two different habitat, Jindo and Inje, were selected for investigation of ecological environment. We investigated four times during 3-month, from June to August in 2012. In Jindo, we observed more than 100 butterflies and a lot of host plants, Melampyrum roseum var. japonicum. But only 5 butterflies and only a few host plants, Veronicastrum sibiricum were observed in Inje. We could not observe the eggs, the larva and pupa on the host plants at all. For finding of bionomical characteritics, we reared butterflies at natural conditions. Collected 3-female butterflies from Jindo laid 465 eggs on the leaves of 3-host plants, Veronicastrum sibiricum. 120 ~ 186 eggs per each female were laid in the shape of cluster. An egg was globular shape, 0.6 mm diameter and 0.7 mm height. The egg periods were $9.96{\pm}0.4days$ after ovipositioning, and the hatchability was 95.% at natural condition. The larval periods were $4.1{\pm}0.6days$ (1st instar), $2.1{\pm}1.0days$ (2nd), $8.1{\pm}0.7days$ (3rd), $239.2{\pm}10.9days$ (4th), $12.3{\pm}1.3days$ (5th), $17.1{\pm}1.1days$ (6th), $10.5{\pm}1.0days$ (7th) each other. The larva of 4th instar overwintered in the nest that had been made into the leaf of host plant with secreted thread as a group until early March next year. In the early March next year, overwintered larva went around their nest in search of host plants, and went to other host plants, Veronica persica and Plantago asiatica, sometimes. The overwintered larva of Mellicta ambigua could grow up on two other host plants normally. In the following experiment, the butterflies of Mellicta ambigua laid eggs on the leaves of Plantago asiatica, but the 1st instar larva from eggs died all. The headwidth of each developmental larval stage were $0.28{\pm}0.02mm$ (1st), $0.45{\pm}0.02mm$ (2nd), $0.58{\pm}0.02mm$ (3rd), $0.75{\pm}0.03mm$ (4th), $0.89{\pm}0.05mm$ (5th), $1.23{\pm}0.06mm$ (6th), $2.13{\pm}0.11mm$ (7th). The pupal ratio was 92.0%. The pupal period were $9.1{\pm}1.6days$, and the emergence rate was 88.6%. As a result we determined that Mellicta ambigua can rear at natural conditions. But indoor-rearing is considered to be difficult and not useful industrially, because they have long term larval stage and only one life cycle per an year.