Milkweed And Monarch Butterfly Commensalism

The relationship between milkweed and monarchs is well known and well documented. Monarch butterflies feed on the nectar in milkweed flowers, collecting pollen before transferring that pollen to another plant. Female monarchs also lay their eggs one at a time on the leaves of milkweed plants.

What type of symbiotic relationship do monarch butterflies and milkweed have?

Most pollinator- flower Page 4 4 relationships are examples of mutualism: A monarch butterfly lays its eggs on a milkweed plant where the caterpillars can grow and be safe from predators because the milkweed makes the caterpillars taste bad to predators.

Is the relationship between monarch butterflies and the milkweed plant an example of commensalism or parasitism?

Relationships in the Wild The three most studied symbiotic relationships can be divided into three categories: commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism. Monarch butterfly larvae extract a toxin called cardiac glycoside from a specific species of milkweed to ward off predators in an example of commensalism.

How does milkweed benefit monarch butterflies?

Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on the leaves of milkweed, the only host plant for this iconic butterfly species. As such, milkweed is critical for the survival of monarchs. Without it, they cannot complete their life cycle and their populations decline.

Can monarch butterflies reproduce without milkweed?

Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Without milkweed, the larva would not be able to develop into a butterfly. Monarchs use a variety of milkweeds. Monarch larvae ,or caterpillars, feed exclusively on milkweed leaves.

Is milkweed a mutualism?

Milkweed relies on pollinators to reproduce and pollinators rely on milkweed for food. This beneficial relationship is referred to as a mutualistic interaction.

What type of symbiotic relationship is the butterfly and flower?

Background and Objective: Interaction of butterfly with plants is a form of mutualism. Plants need help in pollination and at the same time, butterflies need food in the form of nectar and pollen.

Is butterfly and flower a commensalism?

Mutualism is a relationship between two organisms where both of them benefit from each other. This is also called symbiosis. Butterflies obtain nectar from flowers and in the process pick up pollen grains from the flowers.

What are the examples of commensalism?

The simplest example of commensalism is a bird making a nest in a tree. The tree provides shelter and protection to the bird without getting significantly harmed or affected by the bird. Another typical example is the cattle egrets (birds) that feed upon the insects stirred up by the feeding cattle.

What is the best example of commensalism?

One of the best-known examples of a commensal is the remora (family Echineidae) that rides attached to sharks and other fishes. Remoras have evolved on the top of their heads a flat oval sucking disk structure that adheres to the bodies of their hosts.

What type of relationship is commensalism?

Commensalism happens when one species lives with, on, or in another species, known as the host. The host species neither benefits nor is harmed from the relationship.

What would happen to the monarch butterflies if milkweed were extinct?

Because the Monarch caterpillar can only eat the leaves of milkweed plants there was need for this weed or the butterfly would become extinct.

What is the importance of milkweed in monarch butterfly defense against predation?

Monarchs become toxic to predators by sequestering toxins from the milkweed they ingest as larvae, and are brightly colored in both the larval and adult stages to warn predators of this toxicity.

Why do monarch butterflies only eat milkweed?

Monarch butterflies gain an important defense against predators by feeding​ on milkweed as caterpillars. Milkweed plants contain toxic steroids, known as cardenolides, which are bitter-tasting. Through metamorphosis, the monarchs store the cardenolides and emerge as adults with the steroids still in their bodies.

Do monarch butterflies harm milkweed?

Other insects also pollinate milkweed, so while the monarch absolutely depends upon the milkweed for reproduction, the milkweed does not need the monarch. Do the monarch caterpillars harm milkweed plants — they eat it after all.

What are the benefits of milkweed?

Although potentially poisonous, the plant has been used for medicinal purposes as well. Many indigenous tribes applied milkweed sap for wart removal and chewed its roots to treat dysentery. It was also used in salves and infusions to treat swelling, rashes, coughs, fevers and asthma.

Can monarch caterpillars survive without milkweed?

Actually, no. Monarch caterpillars do only eat plants in the Milkweed family (Asclepias spp), so if we want to help them out in our wildlife gardens, we still need to add these plants to our gardens.

What plants are commensalism?

2 Commensalism Epiphytes, plants that benefit by using their hosts for aerial support but gain their resources from the atmosphere, and cattle egrets, which eat insects flushed by grazing cattle, are well-known examples of commensalism.

How do monarch butterflies pollinate milkweed?

Each milkweed blossom is equipped with a trap door, called a stigmatic slit. When insects land on their droopy flowers, clinging to the petals as they feed on nectar, a foot slips into the stigmatic slit and comes in contact with a sticky ball of pollen, called a pollinium.

What is mutualism give 2 examples of mutualism?

The partnership between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and leguminous plants is one example. In addition, cows possess rumen bacteria that live in the digestive tract and help digest the plants the cow consumes. Associations between tree roots and certain fungi are often mutualistic (see mycorrhiza).