Abstract
This is an 18-year study of the endangered Papilio (Pterourus) homerus, adding substantial information to our scanty knowledge of its ecology. The contraction of a once contiguous but narrow population on a single Caribbean island carries the serious threat of extinction. There are now two populations or probably metapopulations, effectively isolated from each other. The butterfly’s larvae feed on Hernandia catalpaefolia and H. jamaicensis, both endemic to Jamaica, and development takes ∼84 days from egg to the emerged adult. Adult numbers fluctuate rapidly, with peaks in July/August each year. Egg distribution was studied at three spatial levels: the food item (leaf cluster), the patch (tree) and the habitat (each valley). Major causes of developmental mortality were Chrysonotomyia, a eulophid parasitoid of the eggs, and bacterial infection of the larvae and pupae. Critically, the mortality from this wasp was lower in undisturbed forest than in the area disturbed by agriculture, this finding having important consequences for conservation. Although there was no evidence of a decline in numbers over the last century, we believe this is an artefact due to collectors working only at the periphery of its distribution. Even assuming that its population densities have not changed, the contraction of its usable habitat implies a similar reduction in average numbers and the small populations are susceptible to disaster. The efforts of researchers, NGOs, and Government agencies have greatly increased the level of awareness, making the people in some key areas the ‘protectors of the species’.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aaron EM (1893) New localities for Papilio homerus. Can Ent 25:258
Adams CD (1972) Flowering plants of Jamaica. University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Andrewartha HG, Birch LC (1954) The distribution and abundance of animals. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Avinoff A, Shoumatoff N (1940) Jamaican summer. Carnegie Mag (Pittsburgh) 14:175–182
Bailey AJ (2003) The biology and ecology of the endangered giant swallowtail butterfly, Papilio (Pterourus) homerus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in Jamaica. PhD thesis, University of the West Indies
Beaver RA (1966) The development and expression of population tables for the bark beetle Scolytus scolytus (F.). J Anim Ecol 35:27–41
Boughton DA (1999) Empirical evidence for complex source-sink dynamics with alternative states in a butterfly metapopulation. Ecology 80:2727–2739
Brown FM, Heineman B (1972) Jamaica and its Butterflies. E.W.Classey, London
Butler PJ (1994) The Jamaica conservation education program. RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chew FS, Robins RK (1984) Egg laying in butterflies. In: Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds) The biology of butterflies. Academic Press, London, pp 65–79
Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group (2006) Bauxite mining in the Cockpit Country. Cockpit Country Stakeholders Group, http://www.cockpitcountry.org. Cited 12 October, 2007
Collins NM, Morris MG (1985) Threatened swallowtail butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book. International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Cambridge
Cromartie WJ (1975) The effect of stand size and vegetational background on the colonization of cruciferous plants by herbivorous insects. J Appl Ecol 12:517–533
Dempster J (1983) The natural control of populations of butterflies and moths. Biol Rev 58:461–481
Dempster JP, Hall ML (1980) An attempt at establishing the swallowtail butterfly at Wicken Fen. Ecol Ent 5:327–334
Dolphin Head Trust (2007) Dolphin Head Trust. http://www.dolphinhead.org. Cited 12 October, 2007
Emmel TC (1995) Saving endangered swallowtails. The conservation biology of Papilio aristodemus ponceanus in Florida and P. homerus in Jamaica. In: Scriber JM, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) Swallowtail butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp 359–369
Emmel TC, Garraway E (1990) Ecology and conservation biology of the Homerus swallowtail in Jamaica (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Trop Lep 1:63–76
Evelyn OB, Camirand R (2003) Forest cover and deforestation in Jamaica: an analysis of forest cover estimates over time. Int For Rev 5:354–363
Eyre LA (1986) Deforestation in Jamaica: its rate and implications. Department of Geography, University of the West Indies, Kingston
Eyre LA (1987) Deforestation in Jamaica. J Sci Res Counc Jamaica 6:17–24
Feeny P(1995) Ecological opportunism and chemical constraints on the host associations of swallowtail butterflies. In: Scriber JM, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) Swallowtail butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp 9–15
Freeman BE (1976) A spatial approach to insect population dynamics. Nature 260:240–241
Freeman BE (1981) The dynamics in trinidad of the Sphecid Wasp Trypoxylon palliditarse: a Thompsonian population? J Anim Ecol 50:563–572
Freeman BE, Smith DC (1990) Variation of density-dependence with spatial scale in the leaf-mining fly Liriomyza commelinae (Diptera, Agromyzidae). Ecl Ent 15:265–274
Garraway E, Freeman BE (1981) Studies on the population dynamics of the Juniper bark beetle (Phloeosinus neotropicus) in Jamaica. Oikos 36:363–368
Garraway E, Bailey AJA (1992) Parasitoid induced mortality in the eggs of the endangered giant swallowtail butterfly Papilio homerus (Papilionidae). J Lepidopt Soc 46:233–234
Garraway E, Parnell J (1993) Notes on the osmeteria of Papilio homerus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Trop Lep 4:29–30
Garraway E, Bailey AJA, Emmel TC (1993) Contribution to the ecology and conservation biology of the endangered Papilio homerus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Trop Lep 4:83–91
Gilbert LE, Singer MC (1973) Dispersal and gene flow in a butterfly species. Am Nat 107:58–72
Gosse PH (1879) On Papilio homerus, its ovum and larvae. Proc Ent Soc: 1v–lviii
Government of Jamaica (1945) Jamaica Wild Life Protection Act. Govt. Jamaica
Hanski I, Gyllenberg M (1993) Two general metapopulation models and the core-satellite species hypothesis. Am Nat 142:17–41
Hanski I, Kuussaari M, Nieminen M (1994) Metapopulation structure and migration in the butterfly Melitaea cinxia. Ecology 75:747–762
Hassell MP, Southwood TRE (1978) Foraging strategies in insects. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 9:75–98
Hazel WN (1995) The causes and evolution of phenotypic plasticity in pupal colour in swallowtail butterflies. In: Scriber JM, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) Swallowtail butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp 205–210
Headley M, Evelyn OB (2000) Jamaica country report. Proceedings of the sub-regional workshop on data collection and outlook effort for forestry in the Caribbean
Higman BW (1988) Jamaica surveyed: plantation maps and plans of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Institute of Jamaica Publications Ltd., Kingston
Hinton HE (1973) Natural deception. In: Gregory RL, Gombrich EH (eds) Illusion in nature and art. Scribners, New York
Hirose Y, Takagi M (1995) Population dynamics and life history of selected Papilionidae. In: Scriber JM, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) Swallowtail butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp 107–113
Hirose Y, Suzuki I, Tagaki M, Hichata K, Yamasaki M, Kimoto H, Yamanaka M, Iga M, Yamaguchi K (1980) Population dynamics of the citrus swallowtail Papilio xuthus Linné (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Mechanisms stabilizing its numbers. Res Popul Ecol 21:260–285
Hooper EDM (1886) Report upon the forests of Jamaica. Waterlow and Sons Ltd., London
Ittyeipe K, Taffe CA (1982) The biology and population dynamics of Monobia mochii Soika, a rare, solitary eumenid in Jamaica. Caribbean J Sci 17:45–58
Janzen DH (1984) Two ways to be a tropical big moth: Santa Rosa Saturniids and Sphingids. Oxf Surv Evol Biol 1:85–140
Jayasingh DB, Freeman BE (1980) The comparative population dynamics of eight solitary bees and wasps (Aculeata; Apocrita; Hymenoptera) trap-nested in Jamaica. Biotropica 12:214–219
Jones CG, Lawton JH (1994) Linking species and ecosystems. Chapman and Hall, New York
Kaye WJ (1926) The butterflies of Jamaica. Trans R Ent Soc 1925:455–504
Larsson S, Ekbom B (1995) Oviposition mistakes in herbivorous insects: confusion or a step towards a new host plant? Oikos 72:155–160
Lehnert MS (2008) The population biology and ecology of the homerus swallowtail, Papilio (Pterourus) homerus, in the Cockpit Country, Jamaica. J Insect Conserv 12:179–188
Levins R (1969) Some demographic and genetic consequences of environmental heterogeneity for biological control. Bull Entomol Soc Am 15:237–240
Levins R (1970) Extinctions. In: Some mathematical questions in biology: lectures on mathematics in the life sciences. Am Math Soc, Providence, Rhode Island, pp 77–107
Lewis CB (1944a) Butterfly notes. Nat Hist Notes, Nat Hist Soc Jamaica (Kingston) (old issue) 17:78
Lewis CB (1944b) Butterfly notes and records. Nat Hist Notes, Nat Hist Soc Jamaica (Kingston) (old issue) 19:118
Lewis CB (1948) Butterfly notes. Nat Hist Notes, Nat His Soc Jamaica (Kingston) (old issue) 3:204
Lewis CB (1949) Butterfly notes. Nat Hist Notes, Nat Hist Soc Jamaica (Kingston) (old issue) 4:48
Matsumoto K (1985) Population dynamics of the Japanese coloured Apollo Parnassius glacialis Butler (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). I. Changes in population size and related population parameters for three successive generations. Res Popul Ecol 27:301–312
McPeek MA, Holt RD (1992) The evolution of dispersal in spatially and temporally varying environments. Am Nat 140:1010–1027
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) (2002) The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly Recovery Plan. NEPA. Kingston, Jamaica. http://www.nrca.org/yourenv/biodiversity/Species/swallowtail.htm. Cited 15 October, 2007
National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) (2003) Jamaica’s commitment to the conservation and management of natural resources, ten years in retrospect. Unpublished Paper 2003, NEPA, Kingston, Jamaica
Neufville Z (2001) Environment-Jamaica: Bauxite mining blamed for deforestation. Inter Press Service. forest.org/archive/general/wrm50.htm. Cited 11 November 2007
Panton ES (1893) A description of the larva of Papilio homerus. J Inst Jamaica 1:375–376
Parnell J (1984) Papilio homerus, the vanishing swallowtail. Documentary Video. University of the West Indies, Jamaica
Parsons P (1992) Book Publishing at University Presses. In: Encyclopedia of Library and information Science, 49(Suppl 12)
Proctor GR (1986) Cockpit Country and its vegetation. In: Thompson DA, Bretting PK, Humphreys M (eds) Forest of Jamaica. Institute of Jamaica Publications Ltd
Proctor GR (2001) Interim checklist of plants found in Dolphin Head project Area. Dolphin Head Trust. http://www.dolphinhead.org/files/taxonomy.pdf. Cited 11 November, 2007
Pulliam HR (1988) Sources, sinks, and population regulation. Am Nat 132:653–661
Renwick JAA, Chew FS (1994) Oviposition behavior in Lepidoptera. Ann Rev Entomol 39:377–400
Roland J, Taylor PD (1997) Insect parasitoid species respond to forest structure on several spatial scales. Nature 386:710–713
Rutherford DG (1878) Notes regarding some rare Papiliones. Ent Monthly Mag 15:28–31
Satchell VM (1990) From plots to plantations: land transactions in Jamaica, 1866–1900. Inst Social and Econ Res, University of the West Indies, Kingston
Scriber MS, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) (1995) Swallowtail butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville
South R (1939) The Months of the British Isles. Frederick Warne, London
Southwood TRE (1978) Ecological methods, 2nd. edn. Chapman and Hall, London
Swabey C (1945) Forestry in Jamaica. Forestry bulletin No. 1, forest department, Kingston
Swainson EM (1901) Notes on lepidopterous larvae from Jamaica. J New York Ent Soc 9:77–82
Taylor CB (1894) The description of the larva and pupa of Papilio homerus Fabricius. Trans Ent Soc 42:409–410
Taylor L (1961) Aggregation, variance and the mean. Nature 189:732–735
Trivers RL (1985) Social evolution. Benjamin/Cummings, Menlo Park, CA
Tsubaki Y (1973) The natural mortality and its factors of the immature stages of a population of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus. Jap J Ecol 23:210–217
Turner TW (1991) Papilio homerus (Papilionidae) in Jamaica, West Indies: field observations and description of immature stages. J Lepidopt Soc 45:259–271
Tyler HA, Brown KS, Wilson KH (1994) Swallowtail butterflies of the Americas. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville
Van Alphen JJM, Vet LEM (1986) An evolutionary approach to host finding and selection. In: Waage J, Greathead D (eds) Insect parasitoids. Academic Press, London, pp 23–61
Vane-Wright RI, Ackery PR (eds) (1984) The biology of butterflies. Academic Press, London
Varley GC (1947) The natural control of population balance in the knapweed gall fly (Urophora jaceana). J Anim Ecol 16:139–187
Vinson SB (1976) Host selection by insect parasitoids. Ann Rev Entomol 21:109–133
Walker DJR (1945) Papilio homerus. Nat Hist Notes, Nat Hist Soc Jamaica (Kingston) (old issue) 1:161–163
Watanabe M (1976) A preliminary study on population dynamics of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus L., in a deforested area. Res Popul Ecol 17:200–210
Watanabe M (1981) Population dynamics of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus L., in a deforested area. Res Pop Ecol 23:74–93
Watanabe M (1983) Radial growth patterns in a pioneer tree, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb, et Zucc. (Rutales: Rutaceae) related to the population dynamics of a swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lpidoptera: Papilionidae). Jap J Ecol 33:253–261
Watanabe M (1995) Population dynamics of Papilio xuthus Larvae in relation to life history of the host tree. In: Scriber JM, Tsubaki Y, Lederhouse RC (eds) Swallowtail Butterflies: their ecology and evolutionary biology. Scientific Publishers, Gainesville, pp 101–106
Watkinson AR, Sutherland WJ (1995) Sources, sinks and pseudo-sinks. J Anim Ecol 64:126–130
Watmough RH (1983) Mortality, sex-ratio and fecundity in natural populations of large carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.). J Anim Ecol 52:111–125
Wiklund C (1977) Oviposition, feeding and spatial separation of breeding and foraging habitats in a population of Leptidea sinapis. Oikos 28:56–68
Williams C (1964) Patterns in the balance of Nature. Academic Press, London
Acknowledgements
Dr. George R. Proctor of the Department of Life Sciences University of the West Indies; The Jamaica Parrot Project, especially Mr. Herlitz Davis and Dr. Noel Snyder; The Butterfly Group of the Natural History Society of Jamaica, especially Catherine Murphy and Carol Miller; the Windsor Research Center, and Paula Hurlock of Dolphin Head Trust, provided useful data and information. Mr. Errol Francis and Mr. Orlando Wilson were masterful field assistants. Funding was received from the Jamaica Agricultural Research Program.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garraway, E., Bailey, A.J.A., Freeman, B.E. et al. Population studies and conservation of Jamaica’s endangered swallowtail butterfly Papilio (Pterourus) homerus . J Insect Conserv 12, 383–397 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-008-9163-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-008-9163-4