Buenos días,
corren tiempos de cuarentena y de incertidumbre. Aún tenía algunas fotos que realicé a la mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) que quería compartir con vosotros y espero así aportar un poco de color a este día.
Si te perdiste el post anterior sobre esta especie, donde te hablo sobre su ciclo de vida, características morfológicas y taxonomía, puedes leerlo AQUÍ.
Hoy vengo a contarte sobre su llamativa coloración. Naranja, amarillo y negro son los colores característicos de esta especie, conocida en todo el mundo. ¿A qué se debe?
Good Morning,
there are times of quarantine and uncertainty. I still had some photos that I took of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) that I wanted to share with you and I hope to contribute to give a little color to this day.
If you missed the previous post about this species, where I talk about its life cycle and morphological characteristics and taxonomy, you can read it HERE.
Today I come to tell you about its striking coloring. Orange, yellow and black are the characteristic colors of this species, known throughout the world. For what is this?
Good Morning,
there are times of quarantine and uncertainty. I still had some photos that I took of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) that I wanted to share with you and I hope to contribute to give a little color to this day.
If you missed the previous post about this species, where I talk about its life cycle and morphological characteristics and taxonomy, you can read it HERE.
Today I come to tell you about its striking coloring. Orange, yellow and black are the characteristic colors of this species, known throughout the world. For what is this?
La presencia de estos colores tan llamativos, al igual que sucede en muchas otras especies del reino animal, obedece al contenido tóxico y desagradable que presenta, avisando y previniendo así a los posibles depredadores. El término que define este rasgo evolutivo es el aposematismo, o coloración aposemática.
The presence of these striking colors, as happens in many other species of the animal kingdom, is due to the toxic and unpleasant content it presents, thus warning and preventing potential predators. The term that defines this evolutionary trait is aposematism, or aposematic coloration.
The presence of these striking colors, as happens in many other species of the animal kingdom, is due to the toxic and unpleasant content it presents, thus warning and preventing potential predators. The term that defines this evolutionary trait is aposematism, or aposematic coloration.
Esta toxicidad viene dada gracias a las Asclepias, un género de plantas perennes de la familia Apocynaceae, del que la mariposa monarca se alimenta, obteniendo e incorporando a su cuerpo glucósidos cardiotónicos o cardíacos, responsables de incrementar la fuerza y velocidad de las contracciones cardiacas.
Al pasar el invierno, la concentración de la toxina en el cuerpo de la mariposa disminuye, haciéndolas más vulnerables a la depredación tras pasar los meses fríos del año.
This toxicity comes from Asclepias, a genus of perennial plants in the Apocynaceae family, from which the monarch butterfly feeds, obtaining and incorporating cardiotonic or cardiac glycosides into its body, responsible for increasing the strength and speed of cardiac contractions.
As winter passes, the concentration of the toxin in the butterfly's body decreases, making them more vulnerable to predation after spending the cold months of the year.
This toxicity comes from Asclepias, a genus of perennial plants in the Apocynaceae family, from which the monarch butterfly feeds, obtaining and incorporating cardiotonic or cardiac glycosides into its body, responsible for increasing the strength and speed of cardiac contractions.
As winter passes, the concentration of the toxin in the butterfly's body decreases, making them more vulnerable to predation after spending the cold months of the year.
Pero a pesar de ser tóxicas para la mayoría de especies, la evolución ha dado lugar a que algunas especies de pájaros sean inmunes a la toxina, por lo que encuentran en la Monarca una buena fuente de alimento. Es el caso de Pheucticus melanocephalus, paseriforme conocido vulgarmente como Picogordo triguillo. También algunos ratones son capaces de ingerirlas enteras y soportar altos niveles de este compuesto.
Otros depredadores de este lepidóptero no han conseguido inmunizarse frente a la toxina ni tener un umbral elevado para soportarla, pero sí han aprendido a seleccionar y consumir de estas mariposas la zona del cuerpo con menor concentración de glucósidos cardíacos, como tórax y abdomen . Son estos paseriformes, por ejemplo, los del género Icterus.
But despite being toxic to most species, evolution has resulted in some species of birds being immune to the toxin, which is why they find a good food source in the Monarch. This is the case of Pheucticus melanocephalus, a passerine commonly known as "Picogordo triguillo" (in spanish). Also some mice are able to ingest them whole and withstand high levels of this compound.
Other predators of this lepidopteran have not been able to immunize against the toxin or have a high threshold to support it, but they have learned to select and consume from these butterflies the area of the body with the lowest concentration of cardiac glycosides, such as the thorax and abdomen. These passerines are, for example, those of the genus Icterus.
But despite being toxic to most species, evolution has resulted in some species of birds being immune to the toxin, which is why they find a good food source in the Monarch. This is the case of Pheucticus melanocephalus, a passerine commonly known as "Picogordo triguillo" (in spanish). Also some mice are able to ingest them whole and withstand high levels of this compound.
Other predators of this lepidopteran have not been able to immunize against the toxin or have a high threshold to support it, but they have learned to select and consume from these butterflies the area of the body with the lowest concentration of cardiac glycosides, such as the thorax and abdomen. These passerines are, for example, those of the genus Icterus.
Sin embargo, no todas las mariposas monarca presentan este patrón de colores tan llamativo para prevenir a sus depredadores. En Hawaii, esta especie adoptó un polimorfismo genético, cambiando la población a aumentando el número de mariposas monarca con una coloración blanca que sustituía al naranja y amarillo.
However, not all monarch butterflies have this striking color pattern to prevent their predators. In Hawaii, this species adopted a genetic polymorphism, changing the population to increasing the number of monarch butterflies with a white coloration that replaced orange and yellow.
Este cambio de color le ha permitido aumentar su supervivencia a los individuos que lo presentan frente a los de coloración naranja, ya que la mayoría de aves insectívoras de la isla toleraban la toxina y depredaban esta especie, realizando una depredación selectiva sobre las naranjas, ya que era el fenotipo más abundante y el conocido como alimento por ellas.
Esta selección aposemática ha favoreciendo el crecimiento de la población de mariposas monarca blancas, siendo ahora muy abundantes y bien conocidas.
This change in color has allowed it to increase its survival to individuals that present it compared to those of orange coloration, since the majority of insectivorous birds on the island tolerated the toxin and preyed on this species, carrying out selective predation on oranges, since which was the most abundant phenotype and the one known as food by them.
This aposematic selection has favored the growth of the population of white monarch butterflies, being now very abundant and well known.
L.R.
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