Caterpillars and host plant records for 59 species of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) from a montane rainforest in southern Ecuador

Florian Bodner1a, Gunnar Brehm2b, Jürgen Homeier3c, Patrick Strutzenberger1d and Konrad Fiedler1e

1Department of Animal Biodiversity, Rennweg 14, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
2Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie mit Phyletischem Museum, Erbertstraße 1, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
3 Plant Ecology, Untere Karspüle 2, Georg-August University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany

Abstract

During four months of field surveys at the Reserva Biológica San Francisco in the south Ecuadorian Andes, caterpillars of 59 Geometridae species were collected in a montane rainforest between 1800 and 2800m altitude and reared to adults. The resulting data on host plant affiliations of these species was collated. The preimaginal stages of 58 and adult stages of all 59 species are depicted in colour plates. Observations on morphology and behaviour are briefly described. Five species, documented for the first time in the study area by means of larval collections, had not been previously collected by intensive light-trap surveys. Together with published literature records, life-history data covers 8.6% of the 1271 geometrid species observed so far in the study area. For 50 species these are the first records of their early stages, and for another 7 the data significantly extend known host plant ranges. Most larvae were collected on shrubs or trees, but more unusual host plant affiliations, such as ferns (6 geometrid species) and lichens (3 geometrid species), were also recorded. Thirty-four percent of the caterpillars were infested by wasp or tachinid parasitoids.

Keywords: Andes, host plant affiliations, insect herbivores, larval morphology, pupal morphology, Neotropical caterpillars

Correspondence: aflorian.bodner@gmx.net, bgunnar.brehm@uni-jena.de, cjhomeie@gwdg.de, dpatrick.strutzenberger@univie.ac.at, ekonrad.fiedler@univie.ac.at
Associate Editor: James Miller was editor of this paper.

Received: 10 October 2008 | Accepted: 17 June 2009 | Published: 15 June 2010

ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 67

Bodner F, Brehm G, Homeier J, Strutzenberger P, Fiedler K. 2010. Caterpillars and host plant records for 59 species of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) from a montane rainforest in southern Ecuador. Journal of Insect Science 10:67, available online: insectscience.org/10.67


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