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Egg load influences search intensity, host selectivity, and clutch size inBattus philenor butterflies

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Abstract

Numerous studies have documented the influence of environmental factors such as host plant species and host quality on the oviposition behavior of female insects. This paper shows that an internal physiological factor, the number of mature eggs a female carries (egg load), correlates with host selectivity and clutch size in unmanipulated natural populations of the pipevine swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor.In addition, search intensity and host selectivity differed among females whose egg loads were manipulated experimentally before they were released and followed in the field. Females with many eggs searched more intensely for hosts and were less selective when they encountered them.

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  1. Francois J. Odendaal

    Present address: Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, 7700, Rondelosch, South Africa

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  1. Zoology Department, Duke University, 27706, Durham, North Carolina

    Francois J. Odendaal & Mark D. Rausher

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  1. Francois J. Odendaal
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Odendaal, F.J., Rausher, M.D. Egg load influences search intensity, host selectivity, and clutch size inBattus philenor butterflies. J Insect Behav 3, 183–193 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01417911

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