Revision of Passiflora Subgenus Decaloba ... - Passion Flowers

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that finches eat the fruits of P. tridactylites and P. suberosa ssp. litoralis in the
Galapagos Islands. Clifford Smith (Univ. of Hawaii) has found that the seeds of
P. suberosa are dispersed by alien frugivorous birds in Hawaii
(http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw_smith/pas_sub.htm). The Mariana fruit
bat, Pteropus mariannus mariannus Desmarest, is known to feed on the fruits of
Passiflora pallida on Guam. Passiflora pallida is a weedy vine there and will
grow up into and cover the canopies of forest trees species, especially in
disturbed habitats. Feeding by the Mariana fruit bat occurs mostly when the
vines grow up in the tops of trees and the bat lands in the tree to feed (Dustin
Janeke, pers. com.; http://www.batcon.org/discover/ffecon3.html;
http://www.passionflow.co.uk/bats11.htm).
Butterflies
Species of Passiflora are of particular interest to entomologists, as these
plants are larval hosts for passion flower butterflies (Subfamily Heliconiinae,
Family Nymphalidae). Larvae of the subfamily are almost uniquely restricted to
food plants in the Passifloraceae, giving rise to the name "passion flower
butterflies.” The close association of species in the Heliconiinae and
Passifloraceae is commonly held up as an example of plant-insect coevolution.
Benson et al. (1975) published the host plant records for many species of the
Heliconiinae and attempted to generate higher level taxonomic correlations
between these butterflies and taxa within Passiflora. They concluded that the
Heliconiinae and Passiflora show parallel evolution with considerable mutual
influence. However, Mitter and Brooks (1983) challenged Benson's hypothesis
and concluded that the host-associate relationship between the Heliconiinae and