Beobachtungen zur Eiablagestrategie von Nachtpfauenaugen oder Pfauenspinnern (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) im Hinblick auf das Territorialverhalten einiger Singvogelarten (Aves: Passeri)

"Though representing a rather easy prey and being presumably exposed to their enemies without protection, the populations of the most Emperor moths (Saturniidae) seem to only undergo insignificant quantitative fluctuations within decades; despite some eventually measurable parasitic or meteorological  influence they remain mostly stable in a long-term average. This may raise the question which mechanisms or survival strategies – besides a high fertility,  successful reproduction, mimicry or fast development – ensure existence and continuance to seemingly so vulnerable species in a longer period. Herein some single species of predators seem to play decisive parts. In this contribution a few obsevations are described on the behaviour of the european blue jay Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) towards some separated, free living populations of the Japanese Oak Silkmoth Antheraea yamamai (Guérin-Méneville, 1861) and some of its closer relatives, the results of which are compared by further tests with some more distant species of Saturniidae moths; the obtained
data indicate a reciprocal adaptation of behaviour in the predators and their preys — and seem to generally correspond with an ecological and evolutionary relationship between the singing birds and butterflies, revealing some mechanisms of their reproductional and territorial behaviour."