Facultative pupal mating in Heliconius erato: Implications for mate choice, female preference, and speciation.

ABSTRACT: Mating systems have broad impacts on how sexual selection and mate choice operate within a species, but studies of mating behavior in the laboratory may not reflect how these processes occur in the wild. Here, we examined the mating behavior of the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato in the field by releasing larvae and virgin females and observing how they mated. H. erato is considered a pupal-mating species (i.e., males mate with females as they emerge from the pupal case). However, we observed only two teneral mating events, and experimentally released virgins were almost all mated upon recapture. Our study confirms the presence of some pupal-mating behavior in H. erato, but suggests that adult mating is likely the prevalent mating strategy in this species. These findings have import

SUBMITTER: Thurman TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5792586 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature