Individual variation in oviposition preference in the butterfly,Colias eurytheme

✍ Scribed by Bruce E. Tabashnik; Heather Wheelock; John D. Rainbolt; Ward B. Watt

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 691 KB
• Volume: 50
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0029-8549
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00348042

✦ Synopsis

We examined intra-population variation in oviposition preference in the pierid butterfly, Colias eurytheme. Females' preferences were tested in the laboratory, using two-way choice tests between the potential hosts, alfalfa and vetch. There were consistent differences in oviposition preference among females within a population. Larval and adult experience had little or no effect on females' preference. These results suggest that the intra-population variation in oviposition preference is genetically based, but the results of experiments designed to estimate the heritability of oviposition preference were not conclusive. We suggest that intra-population variation in host selection characters may play a key role in shifts to new host plants.