Why do Luehdorfia butterflies lay eggs in clusters?

Autor: Masaru Osada, Yosiaki Itô, Yoshitaka Tsubaki
Rok vydání: 1982
Předmět:
Zdroj: Population Ecology. 24:375-387
ISSN: 1438-390X
1438-3896
DOI: 10.1007/bf02515583
Popis: Luehdorfia butterflies lay eggs in clusters. Clones of their host plants (Asiasarum andHeterotropa) are distributed pacthily among the understory of deciduous forests. Groups ofLuehdorfia larvae often exhaust the clones and may wander over the forest floor seeking new clones. The highest mortality observed is during this wandering period. To elucidate whyLuehdorfia butterflies lay eggs in clusters, a simulation experiment was made for hypothetical populations which lay eggs in clusters or singly. Field data on larval mortality, consumption, density of host clones and leaf weight forLuehdorfia japonica were incorporated into the model. The predictions of the simulation were: (1) When the egg density is low, the single egg type could leave many more pupae than the egg clustering type, but when the egg density is high, the former might leave smaller number of pupae than the latter; and (2) There are optimal sizes of egg clusters for different egg densities and the optimal size becomes larger as the egg density increased.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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