Patterns of host use by brood parasiticMaculineabutterflies across Europe

• DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0202
• Publication Date: 2019-02-11T08:05:38Z
• Authors: András Tartally; Jeremy A. Thomas; Christian Anton; Emilio Balletto; Francesca Barbero; Simona Bonelli; Markus Bräu; Luca Pietro Casacci; Sándor Csősz; Zsolt Czekes; Matthias Dolek; Izabela Dziekańska; Graham Elmes; Matthias A. Fürst; Uta Glinka; Michael E. Hochberg; Helmut Höttinger; Vladimir Hula; Dirk Maes; Miguel L. Munguira; Martin Musche; Per Stadel Nielsen; Piotr Nowicki; Paula S. Oliveira; László Peregovits; Sylvia Ritter; Birgit C. Schlick...; Josef Settele; Marcin Sielezniew; David J. Simcox; Anna M. Stankiewicz; Florian M. Steiner; Giedrius Švitra; Line V. Ugelvig; Hans Van Dyck; Zoltán Varga; Magdalena Witek; Michal Woyciechowski; Irma Wynhoff; David R. Nash
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Local adaptation; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; 590; Geographic mosaic; Phengaris; 01 natural sciences; Host-Parasite Interactions; Nesting Behavior; Biological Coevolution; Species Specificity; QL Zoology / állattan; geographic mosaic; chemical mimicry; Animals; Symbiosis; coevolution, geographic mosaic, chemical mimicry, local adaptation, Phengaris; Ants; [SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio]; Europe; Chemical mimicry; coevolution; Butterflies; local adaptation; Coevolution

The range of hosts exploited by a parasite is determined by several factors, including host availability, infectivity and exploitability. Each of these can be the target of natural selection on both host and parasite, which will determine the local outcome of interactions, and potentially lead to coevolution. However, geographical variation in host use and specificity has rarely been investigated.Maculinea(=Phengaris) butterflies are brood parasites ofMyrmicaants that are patchily distributed across the Palæarctic and have been studied extensively in Europe. Here, we review the published records of ant host use by the EuropeanMaculineaspecies, as well as providing new host ant records for more than 100 sites across Europe. This comprehensive survey demonstrates that while all but one of theMyrmicaspecies found onMaculineasites have been recorded as hosts, the most common is often disproportionately highly exploited. Host sharing and host switching are both relatively common, but there is evidence of specialization at many sites, which varies amongMaculineaspecies. We show that mostMaculineadisplay the features expected for coevolution to occur in a geographic mosaic, which has probably allowed these rare butterflies to persist in Europe.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.