An Oviposition Stimulant for Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio troilus, from Leaves of Sassafras albidum

Female butterflies of the spicebush swallowtail, Papilio troilus, are specialists, ovipositing on plants in the family Lauraceae. Column chromatography and HPLC were used to isolate an oviposition stimulant from the leaves of one of its hosts, Sassafras albidum. The stimulant was identified as 3-trans-caffeoyl-muco-quinic acid on the basis of FAB-MS and ¹H NMR spectra as compared to a compound previously isolated from another plant. It was not active alone, but it increased the oviposition activity of butterflies when combined with other stimulant(s) at a concentration of 7 ng/mm² leaf surface area. Other caffeoylquinic acid isomers tested did not have this effect. This is the first report of a swallowtail contact oviposition stimulant from a plant in the family Lauraceae.