Body temperature and territory selection by males of the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): what makes a forest sunlit patch a rendezvous site?

摘要: 1. Insects locate mobile resources like prey items or mates using either sit-and-wait (‘perching’) active (‘patrolling’) searching strategies. The strategy can be accompanied by defending and monopolising a site through territorial behaviour. 2. present study focuses on the perching behaviour in males of speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria L.). Recent studies suggested that selection territories (i.e. sunlit patches forest floor) is driven structural characteristics affect male visual detection. However, given adult butterflies are heliothermic organisms forests provide diverse array light environments, it seems likely thermal aspects may also used for territory selection. 3. We tested whether unused differed profile under field conditions Belgian woodland. dummy to quantify variation operative thoracic temperature calculate heating rates within different vegetation structures) between patches. 4. Sunlit occupied were larger, more frequently characterised low structures compared with empty It took longer reach optimal thorax (starting from fixed suboptimal body temperature) small large 5. suggest detection need combined fully understand butterfly, as synergetic and/or trade-off effects ambient temperature, solar radiation, canopy/vegetation structure involved.