title: The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in large blue butterflies.
abstract: Large blue (Maculinea) butterflies are highly endangered throughout the Palaearctic region, and have been the focus of intense conservation research. In addition, their extraordinary parasitic lifestyles make them ideal for studies of life history evolution. Early instars consume flower buds of specific host plants, but later instars live in ant nests where they either devour the brood (predators), or are fed mouth-to-mouth by the adult ants (cuckoos). Here we present the phylogeny for the group, which shows that it is a monophyletic clade nested within Phengaris, a rare Oriental genus whose species have similar life histories. Cuckoo species are likely to have evolved from predatory ancestors. As early as five million years ago, two Maculinea clades diverged, leading to the different parasitic strategies seen in the genus today. Contrary to current belief, the two recognized cuckoo species show little genetic divergence and are probably a single ecologically differentiated species. On the other hand, some of the predatory morphospecies exhibit considerable genetic divergence and may contain cryptic species. These findings have important implications for conservation and reintroduction efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Als
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: Nikolai P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Kandul
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.forename: Shen-Horn
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Yu-Feng
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: André A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mignault
authors.forename: Jacobus J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Boomsma
authors.forename: Naomi E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Pierce
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002080:Butterflies / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D013997:Time Factors