A conflicting-tendency model of spider agonistic behaviour: Hybrid-pure population line comparisons

Contests over web-sites in the spider, Agelenopsis aperta, have been simulated by a model in which the next act of a spider is determined by the value of two ‘drives’ or ‘tendencies’, to attack and to flee. Such a model can explain the fact that F₁ hybrids between two geographical races of A. aperta are not intermediate between their parents, but are more aggressive than either. The model also accounts for the following features of the observed contests: (1) contests consist of a series of bouts, during which the spiders perform increasingly aggressive acts; (2) contests are usually won by the larger spider; (3) if sizes are equal, contests are usually won by the owner; (4) contests over excellent-quality sites are more costly than over poor-quality sites; and (5) transition probabilities for de-escalation, matching and escalation with respect to prior acts show site quality and weight bias trends. It is argued that a two-tendency model is the simplest that would account for these observations. The model also accurately simulates spider behaviour in agonistic contexts not used in its development (i.e. round-robin contests involving opponents from different populations, and a group of contests involving unequally-matched hybrid opponents).The main discrepancy between the model and observed encounters is that the model predicts that, if the owner is larger, the cost of a contest will not vary with the value of the disputed site. This is because the smaller intruder, having no knowledge of site quality (Riechert 1984) is expected to withdraw early in the contest, regardless of site quality. In the actual contests over excellent sites, estimated costs are higher even when the owner is larger and the intruder loses. The change in intruder behaviour associated with site value occurs following the first series of actions, but within the first bout of the interactions: our analyses indicate that any information conveyed by the owner concerning site value is not through overt behaviour (i.e. through the frequencies with which specific acts are performed).     

Tests for sex differences in fitness-linked traits in the spiderAgelenopsis aperta (Araneae: Agelenidae)

The idea that traits linked to individual fitness may differ between males and females was tested in the desert funnel-web spider,Agelenopsis aperta. The study entailed comparison of juvenile male and female behavior with respect to three traits previously shown to be linked to female body mass and ultimately to individual female fitness: habitat discrimination, territorial behavior, and agonistic behavior. As juveniles, male and female spiders behave similarly: they utilize the same habitat cues in locating web sites, maintain similar territory sizes, and exhibit the same behavior patterns in territorial disputes. Like females, males that obtain the highest-quality web sites achieve a greater body mass and are more likely to survive to maturity.     

Evidence for air movement signals in the agonistic behaviour of a nocturnal arachnid (order Amblypygi)

Many arthropods possess filiform hair sensilla (termed trichobothria in arachnids), which are extremely sensitive detectors of medium particle displacement. Electrophysiological evidence in some taxa suggests that these sensilla can detect air particle displacements resulting from intraspecific communication signals. However, it has not yet been shown for any species that the air particle displacements detected by the filiform hairs are themselves perceived as a 'signal' (i.e. that individuals make behavioural decisions based upon the responses of these organs to the displays of conspecifics). We investigate the agonistic behaviour of the whip spider Phrynus marginemaculatus and the role of its trichobothria in receiving agonistic signals. Whip spiders have extremely elongated 'antenniform' first legs, which they vibrate close to their opponents during agonistic interactions, inducing air movements that excite their opponents' trichobothria. We find that ablation of the trichobothria causes significant increases in: (I) contest duration, and (II) the probability of contest escalation past aggressive displays to physical fighting. Therefore, in the absence of air movement-sensitive sensilla, contest assessment is impaired. This suggests that whip spiders exploit true air movement signals during agonistic interactions, and that these are received by the trichobothria. Furthermore, these results indicate that, in whip spiders, such signals help mitigate the cost of agonistic interaction.     

Costs increase as ritualized fighting progresses within and between phases in the sierra dome spider, Neriene litigiosa

Magnitudes and patterns of energy expenditure in animal contests are seldom measured, but can be critical for predicting contest dynamics and understanding the evolution of ritualized fighting behaviour. In the sierra dome spider, males compete for sexual access to females and their webs. They show three distinct phases of fighting behaviour, escalating from ritualized noncontact display (phase 1) to cooperative wrestling (phase 2), and finally to unritualized, potentially fatal fighting (phase 3). Using CO₂ respirometry, we estimated energetic costs of male-male combat in terms of mean and maximum metabolic rates and the rate of increase in energy expenditure. We also investigated the energetic consequences of age and body mass, and compared fighting metabolism to metabolism during courtship. All three phases involved mean energy expenditures well above resting metabolic rate (3.5×, 7.4× and 11.5×). Both mean and maximum energy expenditure became substantially greater as fights escalated through successive phases. The rates of increase in energy use during phases 2 and 3 were much higher than in phase 1. In addition, age and body mass affected contest energetics. These results are consistent with a basic prediction of evolutionarily stable strategy contest models, that sequences of agonistic behaviours should be organized into phases of escalating energetic costs. Finally, higher energetic costs of escalated fighting compared to courtship provide a rationale for first-male sperm precedence in this spider species.     

Ontogeny of Acoustic and Feeding Behaviour in the Grey Gurnard, Eutrigla gurnardus

Although sound production in teleost fish is often associated with territorial behaviour, little is known of fish acoustic behaviour in other agonistic contexts such as competitive feeding and how it changes during ontogeny. The grey gurnard, Eutrigla gurnardus, frequently emits knock and grunt sounds during competitive feeding and seems to adopt both contest and scramble tactics under defensible resource conditions. Here we examine, for the first time, the effect of fish size on sound production and agonistic behaviour during competitive feeding. We have made sound (alone) and video (synchronized image and sound) recordings of grey gurnards during competitive feeding interactions. Experimental fish ranged from small juveniles to large adults and were grouped in four size classes: 10–15, 15–20, 25–30 and 30–40 cm in total length. We show that, in this species, both sound production and feeding behaviour change with fish size. Sound production rate decreased in larger fish. Sound duration, pulse duration and the number of pulses increased whereas the peak frequency decreased with fish size, in both sound types (knocks and grunts). Interaction rate and the frequency of agonistic behaviour decreased with increasing fish size during competitive feeding sessions. The proportion of feeding interactions accompanied by sound production was similar in all size classes. However, the proportion of interactions accompanied by knocks (less aggressive sounds) and by grunts (more aggressive) increased and decreased with fish size, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that smaller grey gurnards compete for food by contest tactics whereas larger specimens predominantly scramble for food, probably because body size gives an advantage in locating, capturing and handling prey. We further suggest that sounds emitted during feeding may potentially give information on the motivation and ability of the individual to compete for food resources.     

The Energetic Costs of Fighting

SYNOPSIS. Current evolutionary theory predicts that energy expenditurewill be adjusted in contest situations to the value of the disputedresource and the relative probability of winningit. Estimatesof energy expended in contest situations support this prediction.I report on theenergetic costs of display relative to othercontest costs to individual fitness (e.g., risk ofpredation,losses in feeding time, injury and mortality) in territorialdisputes of the spider Agelenopsis aperta. Cost estimates obtainedin terms of decrements to milligrams wet-weight of future eggproduction resulting from single contests indicatethat actualenergy expenditure inthese territorial disputes represent insignificantcosts. Thesecosts are, in fact, 5–6 orders of magnitudesmaller than the costs associated with injury, potential predationand even loss infood as a result of time spent in the interactions.Review of the literature indicates that in most instances, energyexpenditure may be correlated with some other factor upon whichselection is acting (e.g., short contests wherepredation riskis high, variation in levels of escalation exhibited). Two exceptionsinclude the tremendous losses of workers to reproductives inant, termite, and bee colony territorial disputes and the productionof specializedagonistic organsexhibited by some corals, seaanemones and corallimopharians when encountering neighbors within"territorial"boundaries.     

Transgressive aggression in Sceloporus hybrids confers fitness through advantages in male agonistic encounters

1.  We investigated agonistic behaviour and associated characteristics of Sceloporus woodi (Florida scrub lizard), Sceloporus undulatus (Eastern fence lizard) and their hybrids using staged territorial encounters.
2.  These Sceloporus hybrids exhibit transgressive aggression and transgressive head-girth relative to the parental species and the transgressive aggression was specifically associated with an advantage in agonistic encounters. Our results suggest a hybrid advantage in natural habitats when defending and invading territories against either parental species.
3.  We further analysed general advantages in agonistic encounters across the entire three-group system to elucidate characteristics that may be advantageous under specific circumstances. Individuals with larger body size (SVL) and greater aggression had an overall advantage in agonistic encounters; however, smaller individuals could win when slightly more aggressive and fatter, and less aggressive individuals could win when slightly larger, especially with greater head-girth.
4.  The extreme hybrid phenotypes likely occurred through transgressive segregation, which has been implicated as a process through which homoploid, hybrid speciation can occur. Some form of ecological divergence is necessary, however, to impede parental gene flow. Our data suggest that ecological divergence could manifest in territorial species through transgressive aggression.     

Effects of extreme climatic events on small-scale spatial patterns: a 20-year study of the distribution of a desert spider

Individuals of most animal species are non-randomly distributed in space. Extreme climatic events are often ignored as potential drivers of distribution patterns, and the role of such events is difficult to assess. Seothyra henscheli (Araneae, Eresidae) is a sedentary spider found in the Namib dunes in Namibia. The spider constructs a sticky-edged silk web on the sand surface, connected to a vertical, silk-lined burrow. Above-ground web structures can be damaged by strong winds or heavy rainfall, and during dispersal spiders are susceptible to environmental extremes. Locations of burrows were mapped in three field sites in 16 out of 20?years from 1987 to 2007, and these grid-based data were used to identify the relationship between spatial patterns, climatic extremes and sampling year. According to Morisita??s index, individuals had an aggregated distribution in most years and field sites, and Geary??s C suggests clustering up to scales of 2?m. Individuals were more aggregated in years with high maximum wind speed and low annual precipitation. Our results suggest that clustering is a temporally stable property of populations that holds even under fluctuating burrow densities. Climatic extremes, however, affect the intensity of clustering behaviour: individuals seem to be better protected in field sites with many conspecific neighbours. We suggest that burrow-site selection is driven at least partly by conspecific cuing, and this behaviour may protect populations from collapse during extreme climatic events.     

Payoffs and strategies in territorial contests: ESS analyses of two ecotypes of the spiderAgelenopsis aperta

Summary Game-theoretic analyses were completed on the territorial contest behavior of two populations of a desert spider that exhibit markedly different levels of within-species competition. Numerical payoff matrices were constructed from field data collected on the behavior and demography of each population. Payoffs were expressed in terms of expected future egg production. Three behavior patterns that a spider might exhibit following assessment of its weight relative to that of its opponent and the value of the site were considered: withdraw, display, or escalate. The model predicts for the more harsh grassland habitat an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) that makes ownership decisive in settling contests between opponents with small weight differences, whereas it otherwise assigns victory to the heavier opponent. Whereas the empirical data collected for this grassland population closely approximates the predicted ESS, that for a population occupying a more favorable riparian habitat deviates significantly. The ESS prediction for this latter population is that an intruding spider will withdraw from a contest if it is similar in weight to the web-owner. Withdrawal is common in this population, but so are display and threat and these actions were not predicted. We hypothesize that gene flow from surrounding habitats is preventing the riparian population from completely adapting to its local environment.     

EXPERIMENTS ON THE LIMITATION OF BIRD NUMBERS BY TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOUR

(1) This paper examines removal and other experimental studies on the role of territorial behaviour in the limitation of bird densities. Experimental design is discussed, as are the types of conclusions that can be drawn. (2) Experiments have been conducted on more than 40 species from a wide range of taxonomic groups. Most provided evidence for density limitation, probably mediated by territorial behaviour, and for the existence of a non-territorial sector able to take territories when territory owners were removed or when additional habitat was made available. Experiments in the breeding season indicated that some surplus birds, although younger on average then territorial birds, were sexually mature and able to breed when given the chance. In some species, replacement birds bred less well than other territorial birds, but in other species no difference was apparent between the two groups. (3) Other experiments indicated that, while density was limited by territorial behaviour in good habitats, this was not the case in poor habitats, and that some individuals would move from poor to good habitat when territory owners were removed from good habitat. (4) In some species, non-territorial birds of breeding age were present in the population despite the existence of vacant territorial sites, while in others replacements were observed on good territories but not on poor ones. The implications were that site quality influenced whether settlement, defence and breeding occurred, and that some individuals had more stringent site requirements than others. In some seabirds' sites in the centre of a colony were more attractive than sites on the edges. (5) Many land-bird species that have been studied show two peaks of territorial activity each year, in autumn and in spring, and a limitation on breeding density can occur at either or both seasons, depending on conditions. (6) The fact that densities of many bird species fluctuate greatly from year to year is not inconsistent with the limitation of density by territorial behaviour. Several mechanisms are apparent through which density might be limited by territorialism at different levels in different years, so that surplus non-territorial birds are present in years of low territorial density, as well as in years of high territorial density. (7) Experiments have shown that density is limited by the presence of territorial birds, in some species at different levels in different areas or years. The next step is to find whether density is regulated by the presence of territorial birds over a period of years in a density-dependent manner. For this, observational data are required to find whether the proportion of birds that is excluded by territorial behaviour each year varies with the total number available for settlement. Such studies can be made only on species in which non-territorial birds can be counted accurately, as well as territorial ones.     

Dear Enemies Elicit Lower Androgen Responses to Territorial Challenges than Unfamiliar Intruders in a Cichlid Fish

In many territorial species androgen hormones are known to increase in response to territorial intrusions as a way to adjust the expression of androgen-dependent behaviour to social challenges. The dear enemy effect has also been described in territorial species and posits that resident individuals show a more aggressive response to intrusions by strangers than by other territorial neighbours. Therefore, we hypothesized that the dear enemy effect may also modulate the androgen response to a territorial intrusion. Here we tested this hypothesis in male cichlid fish (Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus) using a paradigm of four repeated territorial intrusions, either by the same neighbour or by four different unfamiliar intruders. Neighbour intruders elicited lower aggression and a weaker androgen response than strangers on the first intrusion of the experiment. With repeated intrusions, the agonistic behaviour of the resident males against familiar intruders was similar to that displayed towards strangers. By the fourth intrusion the androgen response was significantly reduced and there was no longer a difference between the responses to the two types of intruders. These results suggest that the dear enemy effect modulates the androgen response to territorial intrusions and that repeated intrusions lead to a habituation of the androgen response.     

Post-contest behaviour in black-capped chickadees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecile atricapillus</Emphasis>): loser displays,not victory displays,follow asymmetrical countersinging exchanges

Victory displays are behaviours that occur after the conclusion of a signaling contest, performed solely by the contest winner. Victory displays may reinforce the dominance of the winner either to the loser or to other conspecifics within signaling range. Victory displays are poorly studied despite the significant consequences that post-conflict behaviour may have on the individuals involved. We examined the period immediately following 50 territorial countersinging contests between males in 10 neighbourhoods of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) of known dominance rank. We characterized the post-contest singing behaviour of chickadees and evaluated whether post-contest behaviour is consistent with victory displays. Using a 16-microphone acoustic location system to simultaneously record entire neighbourhoods of breeding chickadees, we isolated 50 dyadic countersinging contests and measured the vocal behaviour of the contestants in the minutes following each interaction. Eighty-six percent of contests were followed by a period of solo singing by one of the contestants, while 14% were followed by silence. The post-contest singer was most often the contestant who held a subordinate dominance position in the previous winter’s dominance hierarchy; dominant males performed post-contest song bouts significantly less often. Asymmetry in overlapping between contestants did not predict which bird sang a post-contest bout. However, in a significant majority of cases, the post-contest singer was pitch-matched by his opponent during the contest more than he pitch-matched his opponent. Our results indicate that male chickadees do not perform acoustic victory displays after countersinging contests. In contrast, the post-contest behaviour of territorial chickadees is more consistent with a “loser display”.     

A preliminary molecular phylogeny for New Zealand sheet-web spiders (Cambridgea) and comparison of web-building behaviour

ABSTRACT

Spider webs vary in size to meet the nutritional requirements of the resident spider with the resident’s body size strongly informing these requirements. In this way, the effect of body size on web-building behaviour should be apparent across species. To determine whether the size of analogous web structures scales with body size across closely related species, we first measured mainsheet area and adult female body size of 12 sheet-web spider species (Cambridgea). Using these species, we then generated alignments from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and histone 3 (H3) gene regions. These alignments were phylogenetically analysed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. While phylogenetic trees for the COI gene suggested that Cambridgea is monophyletic relative to sampled outgroups, H3 did not. Combining our COI phylogenetic tree’s branch lengths with data on web-building behaviour, we used phylogenetic least squares to determine whether web size scales with spider size across species. While we found evidence that larger species generally build larger webs, the variation in web size across even similarly sized species suggests that environmental characteristics which influence site selection and prey type may play a role in determining the optimal web size for different species.     

Prior residence effect determines success of male–male territorial competition in a color polymorphic poison frog

Male–male competition shapes resource distributions and reproductive success among individuals, and can drive trait evolution when phenotypes differ in competitive abilities and/or strategies. Divergence of populations, regardless of the cause, is often accompanied by divergence in male competitive ability, and such asymmetries can play an important role in mediating the interactions and evolutionary trajectory of the nascent lineages. Here, we designed a field experiment to examine the importance of color, a divergent trait, in determining territorial contest outcomes in the poison frog Oophaga pumilio. Males of different O. pumilio color morphs differ in aggression level, suggesting a potential dominance hierarchy between these divergent phenotypes. In a contact zone between red and blue-color morphs, we first removed territorial males from their calling sites, and examined whether certain color morph(s) were better at establishing in these now-vacant territories. We then staged a territorial contest by simultaneously releasing the original and the new occupant to their point of capture. Surprisingly, we found no significant effect of color on acquiring territories or winning staged contests. However, the original occupants won against the new occupant in 84% of the staged contests, revealing a strong prior residence effect. This suggests that asymmetries that stem from prior residency override coloration in predicting contest outcomes of male–male territorial contests in wild O. pumilio. Thus, contradicting our hypothesis, male–male territorial competition alone seems unlikely to exert selection on coloration in this contact zone.     

Individual distance in crustacea II. the mantis shrimp Gonodactylus oerstedii

The distances of separation at which individuals of the territorial shrimp Gonodactylus oerstedii showed agonistic behaviors were measured in the laboratory. Sizes of interacting animals had no effect on distances at which behavior patterns were shown. Different acts occurred at significantly different distances.

In the case of territorial G. oerstedii, most agonistic acts occurred just as an introduced animal crossed the gravel line marking the boundary of the territory. Actual distance separating animals was less important than location of an introduced shrimp in determining the probability of agonistic interactions.

Overall, there was an inverse correlation between degree of site attachment in a species and the variance in its behavior‐distance values.     

Integrating personality research and animal contest theory: aggressiveness in the green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri

Aggression occurs when individuals compete over limiting resources. While theoretical studies have long placed a strong emphasis on context-specificity of aggression, there is increasing recognition that consistent behavioural differences exist among individuals, and that aggressiveness may be an important component of individual personality. Though empirical studies tend to focus on one aspect or the other, we suggest there is merit in modelling both within- and among-individual variation in agonistic behaviour simultaneously. Here, we demonstrate how this can be achieved using multivariate linear mixed effect models. Using data from repeated mirror trials and dyadic interactions of male green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, we show repeatable components of (co)variation in a suite of agonistic behaviour that is broadly consistent with a major axis of variation in aggressiveness. We also show that observed focal behaviour is dependent on opponent effects, which can themselves be repeatable but were more generally found to be context specific. In particular, our models show that within-individual variation in agonistic behaviour is explained, at least in part, by the relative size of a live opponent as predicted by contest theory. Finally, we suggest several additional applications of the multivariate models demonstrated here. These include testing the recently queried functional equivalence of alternative experimental approaches, (e.g., mirror trials, dyadic interaction tests) for assaying individual aggressiveness.     

Habitat selection in a large orb‐weaving spider: vegetational complexity determines site selection and distribution

1. The distribution of the large orb‐weaving spider Argiope trifasciata in old field habitats of North America and the habitat selection process this species used was studied for 2 years. 2. Because web spiders have limited dispersal abilities and an energetically costly prey capture device, they do not have the ability to sample potential foraging sites. Structural complexity of the vegetation to which the web must be attached is relatively easy to assess. The hypothesis that the structural complexity is a primary factor in determining initial web site selection was tested both by relating the natural distribution of the spiders across habitats to vegetational complexity and by manipulating the complexity of the habitats in a series of experiments. 3. Argiope trifasciata was not distributed evenly among three old field vegetation types. Habitat complexity was related to spider density in both years although no measure of insect activity, prey capture, or prey consumption was correlated with spider distribution. 4. Three experimental manipulations were conducted to test the impact of habitat structure on spider establishment: (1) the amount of natural vegetation was reduced, (2) structures were added to a simple habitat, and (3) the complexity of the structures added was varied. In each case, spiders were introduced and establishment of webs was monitored. In all manipulations, spider establishment was related to the complexity of the substrate available. 5. These results are important for understanding the cues that influence foraging site selection and therefore provide insight into the distribution of species with limited dispersal abilities and high site investment requirements.     

Territorial aggression can be sensitive to the status of heterospecific intruders

Territorial animals are known to be able to differentiate between intruding individuals posing a low or high threat and adjust their aggressive response accordingly. However, plastic territorial aggression based on recognising individuals with different attributes is typically assumed to be relevant only in the context of conspecific interactions. In this study, we investigated territorial aggression of neotropical cichlid fish in their natural habitat to assess whether responses to different types of individuals of another species can also be plastic. We show that arrow cichlids (Amphilophus zaliosus) adjusted their territorial aggression regarding the status of heterospecific intruders: breeding individuals of Amphilophus astorquii received a lower level of aggression than non-breeders. The same pattern was also found for the two different types of A. astorquii individuals intruding into conspecific territories. These results suggest that heterospecific individuals should not be ignored when considering selection pressures shaping plasticity of aggressive behaviour in territorial animals.     

Signals and Signal Choices made by the Araneophagic Jumping Spider Portia fimbriata while Hunting the Orb-Weaving Web spiders Zygiella x-notata and Zosis geniculatus

Portia fimbriata is a web-invading araneophagic jumping spider (Salticidae). The use of signal-generating behaviours is characteristic of how P. fimbriata captures its prey, with three basic categories of signal-generating behaviours being prevalent when the prey spider is in an orb web. The predatory behaviour of P. fimbriata has been referred to as aggressive mimicry, but no previous studies have provided details concerning the characteristics of P. fimbriata 's signals. We attempt to determine the model signals for P. fimbriata 's 'aggressive mimicry' signals. Using laser Doppler vibrometer and the orb webs of Zygiella x-notata and Zosis geniculatus , P. fimbriata 's signals are compared with signals from other sources. Each of P. fimbriata 's three categories of behaviour makes a signal that resembles one of three signals from other sources: prey of the web spider (insects) ensnared in the capture zone of the web, prey making faint contact with the periphery of the web and large-scale disturbance of the web (jarring the spider's cage). Experimental evidence from testing P. fimbriata with two sizes of lure made from Zosis (dead, mounted in a lifelike posture in standard-size orb web) clarifies P. fimbriata 's signal-use strategy: (1) when the resident spider is small, begin by simulating signals from an insect ensnared in the capture zone (attempt to lure in the resident spider); (2) when the resident spider is large, start by simulating signals from an insect brushing against the periphery of the web (keep the resident spider out in the web, but avoid provoking from it a full-scale predatory attack); (3) when walking in the resident spider's web, regardless of the resident spider's size, step toward the spider while making a signal that simulates a large-scale disturbance of the web (mask footsteps with a self-made vibratory smokescreen).     

Male mate location behaviour and encounter sites in a community of tropical butterflies: taxonomic and site associations and distinctions

Male mate location behaviour and encounter sites have been studied in 72 butterfly species at Nagpur, India, and related to taxonomy, morphology, habitat and population parameters. Species can be placed in three broad classes of mate location behaviour: invariant patrolling, invariant perching, and perch-patrol, the latter associated with increasing site fidelity, territorial defence and male assemblages. Significant taxonomic differences occur, closely related species tending to share mate location behaviours. Morphological differences are found with heavier and larger butterflies displaying greater site fidelity and territorial defence, and differences occur between individuals of species which both perch and patrol. Invariant patrolling is particularly associated with tracks through vegetation, host plant-track distributions, and high female to male numbers observed on transects; invariant perching is linked more to edge features than patrolling, and to lower population counts on transects. Species which perch-patrol, defend territories and establish male assemblages are associated with more complex vegetation structures, and have encounter sites at vegetation edges, landforms and predictable resource (host plant) concentrations. Attention is drawn to the importance of distinctive mate encounter sites for the conservation of butterfly species’ habitats.