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The ecology and evolution of reduced wings in forest macrolepidoptera

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Summary

Loss of flying ability has been related to habitat stability, but even within stable habitats most species retain the ability to fly. What other factors are associated with flightlessness in forest species? I used both simple and phylogeny-based comparative methods to examine traits associated with the evolution of reduced wings in temperate forest Macrolepidoptera. Non-phylogenetic comparisons show that the 33 species with reduced wings in this data set tend to be spring feeding, overwinter as eggs, place eggs in clusters or a single mass, have winter-active adults and have high host breadth, high fecundity and outbreaking population dynamics. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the seven independent origins of reduced wings occurred only in springfeeding lineages. The origins of reduced wings were also related to the other variables, although correlations were much less strong for egg clustering and host breadth. The fecundity of wing-reduced species and their macropterous sister species were not different, but few data were available.

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  1. Alison F. Hunter

    Present address: Biology Department, Dalhousie University, B3H 4J1, Halifax, NS, Canada

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  1. Zoology Department, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Alison F. Hunter

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Hunter, A.F. The ecology and evolution of reduced wings in forest macrolepidoptera. Evol Ecol 9, 275–287 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237773

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