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The flight behavior and dispersal ecology of the red milkweed beetle, Tetraopes tetraopthalmus

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Call No.	QL596.C4 D38
Author	Davis, Mark Avery.
Title	The flight behavior and dispersal ecology of the red milkweed beetle, Tetraopes tetraopthalmus
Date	1981
Abstract	Most detailed studies of insect flight and dispersal have used long flying species as subjects. Little is known of the flight ecology of comparatively short flying species. This thesis reports the findings of a 4 year study of the flight behavior and ecology of the Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes tetraopthalmus (Forster) (Cerambycidae). Flight capacity (dispersal power) was measured in the laboratory using a still air tethering technique. A specially constructed laboratory apparatus, consisting of a loud speaker and voltage regulator was used to measure take-off tendency. Wing-beat frequency and amplitude were measured with a stroboscopic light. Window traps and a mark-recapture experiment elucidated the amount of dispersal in the field. Rearing experiments with field captured and flight tested females provided information concerning the relationship between flight and reproductive behavior. To relate the flight and dispersal behavior of this species to the distribution and permanence of its habitat, milkweed patches, I developed a biogeographic theory of dispersal based on a computer model which I constructed. I documented geographical variation in dispersal power, which was predicted by the computer model. I found that females possessed greater dispersal power than males, on the average, that dispersal power was positively correlated with size, and that dispersal power declined with age. Take-off tendency, on the other hand, was higher in males and was negatively correlated with size. Take-off tendency, like dispersal power, also declined with age. These findings along with field observations indicate that females move more between milkweed patches (dispersal flights), while males move more within patches (mate-searching flights). Tremendous individual variation exists, however. A 2 factor multiple analysis of covariance showed that sex, size, and age accounted together for less than 12% of the variation. Day to day variation within individuals accounted for more than 25% of the variation, but more than 60% of the variation could not be accounted for, and is believed to represent intrinsic differences in flight ability. Take-off tendency in females was increased by starving them for 24 hours or by keeping them in crowded conditions, also for 24 hours. Take-off tendency in males was unaffected by these treatments. Long term social isolation (several weeks) had no effect on dispersal power, however it decreased take-off tendency. Reproduction did not suppress flight ability nor take-off tendency. Gravid females commonly exhibited long flights in the laboratory and were collected while dispersing in the field. These and other findings and observations indicate that dispersal in Tetraopes is not significantly influenced by reproductive state nor enhanced by environmental factors which might portend a decline in habitat quality. This conclusion contrasts with the Kennedy-Johnson-Dingle view of insect dispersal and migration which holds that most migratory flights are prereproductive and are initiated in response to environmental cues which portend environmental deterioration. It is argued that current views of insect dispersal should be expanded to incorporate the diversity of dispersal syndromes that exist among insects.
Description	x, 271 leaves ill., maps
Format	application/pdf
Subject	Red milkweed beetle. Insects -- Flight. Insects -- Dispersal.
Issuing Body	Dartmouth Dissertations are made available through the Dartmouth Digital Library.
Degree	Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dartmouth College.
Copyright	All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means without permission in writing from the author.
DOI	http://dx.doi.org/10.1349/ddlp.1497

Title	Page 1
Full Text	THE FLIGHT BEHAVIOR AND DISPERSAL ECOLOGY OF THE RED MILKWEED BEETLE, TETRAOPES TETRAOPTHALMUS A Thesis • Submitted to the Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mark A. Davis DARTMOUTH COLLEGE Hanover, New Hampshire May 1981

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