Larval growth rate is not a major determinant of adult wing shape and eyespot size in the seasonally polyphenic butterfly <i>Melanitis leda</i>.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insects often show adaptive phenotypic plasticity where environmental cues during early stages are used to produce a phenotype that matches the environment experienced by adults. Many tropical satyrine butterflies (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) are seasonally polyphenic and produce distinct wet- and dry-season form adults, providing tight environment-phenotype matching in seasonal environments. In studied Mycalesina butterflies, dry-season forms can be induced in the laboratory by growing larvae at low temperatures or on poor food quality. Since both these factors also tend to reduce larval growth rate, larval growth rate may be an internal cue that translates the environmental cues into the expression of phenotypes. If this is the case, we predict that slower-growing larvae w

SUBMITTER: Molleman F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11490226 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature