Territorial behavior of Favonius taxila (Lycaenidae): territory size and persistency

Abstract

Territorial behavior of the hairstreak, Favonius taxila Bremer 1861, was investigated in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Males were active in the morning hours, during which they showed territorial behavior. Territorial males persistently perched on almost the same leaf or a shoot and occasionally flew around a limited area, here referred to as inspection area. When another male intruded into this area, the resident and the intruder engaged in a circling flight. The flight occasionally strayed to outside of the inspection area, where it was terminated. The resident returned to his territory in most cases, but in a few cases, exchange of the territory owner occurred. In one case, a single butterfly occupied his territory throughout the observation period of 5 days, whereas in another, several times of exchanges occurred.