“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil
Lepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (u...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/1/27 |
| _version_ | 1797443799010508800 |
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| author | Luc Legal |
| author_facet | Luc Legal |
| author_sort | Luc Legal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (usually caterpillars) nor the one that lasts the longest (very often chrysalises). These two stages are often directly related to litter and soil, although only the interaction at the pupal stage seems to follow a phylogenetic logic with two independent evolutionary events for the preference with soil: Use of litter and the upper “O” horizon as protection against predation for the evolutionarily oldest Lepidoptera families, pupation at greater depths (up to 60 centimetres in extreme cases) for the most derived Lepidoptera families; this probably to take advantage of the thermal and moisture buffer provided by the soil. An estimate suggests that about 25% of lepidopteran species worldwide have more or less obligatory interactions with soil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:02:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e6173ab83f3946f99716471d35de39d0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:02:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-e6173ab83f3946f99716471d35de39d02023-11-30T21:52:58ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-12-011512710.3390/d15010027“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with SoilLuc Legal0Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, Université Paul Sabatier, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse, FranceLepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (usually caterpillars) nor the one that lasts the longest (very often chrysalises). These two stages are often directly related to litter and soil, although only the interaction at the pupal stage seems to follow a phylogenetic logic with two independent evolutionary events for the preference with soil: Use of litter and the upper “O” horizon as protection against predation for the evolutionarily oldest Lepidoptera families, pupation at greater depths (up to 60 centimetres in extreme cases) for the most derived Lepidoptera families; this probably to take advantage of the thermal and moisture buffer provided by the soil. An estimate suggests that about 25% of lepidopteran species worldwide have more or less obligatory interactions with soil.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/1/27Lepidopteralife traitsevolutionlittersoil |
| spellingShingle | Luc Legal “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil Diversity Lepidoptera life traits evolution litter soil |
| title | “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil |
| title_full | “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil |
| title_fullStr | “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil |
| title_short | “Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil |
| title_sort | lepidoptera flies but not always interactions of caterpillars and chrysalis with soil |
| topic | Lepidoptera life traits evolution litter soil |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/1/27 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luclegal lepidopterafliesbutnotalwaysinteractionsofcaterpillarsandchrysaliswithsoil |