CNHP Undergraduate Researcher Discovers New Relationship Between Rare Butterfly and Ants

Myrmecophily is a mouthful of a word that refers to positive interactions between ants and other species. Such relationships are well known among the ant and butterfly specialists of the world. CNHP undergraduate researcher Tristan Kubik is a bit of a prodigal ant expert, spending time as a high school student collecting and cataloging ants, and mapping ant colonies. Kubik teamed up with Rob Schorr, a CNHP zoologist, to assist Schorr in studying populations of the rare hops blue butterfly (Celastrina humulus). For his part, Kubik has focused on determining if myrmecophily plays a role in the hops blue butterfly life history. Kubik recently spent weeks monitoring eggs and larvae of the hops blue butterfly and has documented that ants tend larvae (see pictures below). Kubik has observed larger ants, such as carpenter ants, defending the larvae from predation. The caterpillars dissuade the ants from eating them by using pheromones and providing protein and sugar-rich secretions. This marks the first documentation that myrmecophily exists for hops blue butterflies and ants. It is theorized that ants provide defense for the larvae in exchange for the nutritional benefits from the nectar that the larva can excrete (mutualistic symbiosis). Alternately, some believe that the nectar is simply a calming agent that minimizes ant aggression (commensalism). Kubik and Schorr are excited about identifying what the advantages may be and how this discovery can play a role in butterfly conservation.

Tristan Kubik with a female hops blue butterfly.

Ant crawling on larvae.

Hops blue butterfly larva (Celastrina humulus) on a hops leaf. (Humulus neomexicanus).

Snaketail Ale Brewed for Virginia Natural Heritage Program's 30th Anniversary

You might remember that a few years back CNHP developed a novel collaboration with Odell Brewing Company to conserve the hops blue butterfly (Celastrina humulus). The hops blue butterfly is a rare butterfly in Colorado whose host plant is wild hops (Humulus lupulus). The fruition of that collaboration was Celastrina Saison (pictured below), which produced a $1/bottle donation from Odell Brewing Company to fund studies of the hops blue butterfly.
  Our friend Jason Bulluck at the Virginia Natural Heritage Program (VNHP) liked the idea of partnering with breweries for conservation, and took the idea for Snaketail Ale to Triple Crossing Brewing Company in Richmond, VA, and they loved it! This beer celebrates the St. Croix snaketail, a rare dragonfly known from the Richmond area, and commemorates the VNHP’s 30th anniversary. Snaketail Ale is a heavily dry-hopped session ale that can be found on tap at Triple Crossing Brewery, Richmond, Virginia. Cold 32oz “crowler” cans of Snaketail Ale can be purchased at the brewery's tasting room. Raise a glass and toast to conservation!

CNHP Staff Mentor Future Conservation Biologists

CNHP continues to take a lead role in developing the future conservation biologists in Colorado. Annually, CNHP mentors honors undergraduate students as they tackle research on rare species of Colorado. The most-recent graduate is Rachel Maison. Rachel is an honors student in the Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Department. She conducted independent research on the occupancy and habitat associations of the hops blue butterfly (Celastrina humulus). She continued the research begun by Callie Puntenney in 2014, which was recently accepted as a publication in the Journal of Insect Conservation. Rachel’s research discovered that hops blue butterflies are prevalent on the U.S. Air Force Academy where there are large expanses of wild hops (Humulus lupulus). Wild hops is the host plant of the hops blue butterfly. Additionally, she found that hops blue butterflies are prevalent in areas where ant nests are abundant. Because many of the members of the blue butterfly family (Family: Lycaenidae) have larva that are tended by ants, Rachel incorporated ant-nest searches into her research project.

CNHP zoologist Rob Schorr (left) served as a mentor to CSU student Rachel Maison (right), helping her design and complete an independent research project on occupancy and habitat associations of hops blue butterfly (Celastrina humulus).