The stable isotope ecology of mycalesine butterflies: implications for plant-insect co-evolution

One of the most dramatic examples of biome shifts in the geological record is the rapid replacement of C3 vegetation by C4 grasses in (sub-) tropical regions during the Late Miocene–Pliocene. Climate-driven biome shifts of this magnitude are expected to have a major impact on diversification and ecological speciation, especially in grazing taxa. Mycalesine butterflies are excellent candidates to explore the evolutionary impact of these C3/C4 shifts on insect grazer communities.
Mycalesine butterflies feed on grasses as larvae, have radiated spectacularly and occur in almost all extant habitats across the Old World tropics. However, at present, we lack a comprehensive understanding of the larval ecology of these butterflies and this hampers investigations of co-evolutionary patterns among the geographically parallel radiations of mycalesine butterflies and the remarkable evolutionary history of their host plants.
By conducting several experiments under defined environmental conditions,...