Territory Preferences and Intensity of Competition in the Grey Hairstreak Strymon melinus (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) and the Tarantula Hawk Wasp Hemipepsis ustulata (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae)

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Abstract
Males of the tarantula hawwk wasp Hemipepsis ustulata and the grey hairstreak butterfly Strymon melinus have independently evolved highly similar reproductive tactics. Males of both species perch in and defend certain palo verde trees growing on ridgetops in central Arizona [USA]. The most popular trees, judging from frequency of occupation and frequency and duration of male-male aggressive encounters, are the same for both species. For both insects, most interactions between a territorial male and an intruder end quickly with the departure of the intruder. In the tarantula hawk, long aerial duels can be experimentally induced by capturing a resident male and then releasing him after a new male has taken control of his perch tree. Female tarantula hawks and female hairstreaks occasionally visit perch territories; although the data are scant, they suggest that females most often come to the territory location that males prefer.