Seasonal butterfly design: morphological plasticity among three developmental pathways relative to sex, flight and thermoregulation

摘要: The temperate-zone butterfly Pararge aegeria can use three developmental pathways corresponding to different seasonal cohorts: (1) development with a pupal winter diapause resulting in early spring adults; (2) larval late-spring adults and (3) direct summer or second generation adults. In order test adaptive predictions, we compared variation flight- thermoregulation-related morphology among adult males females from the using both field data (i.e. wild-caught butterflies) experimental breeding reared under photoperiod regimes). Morphological patterns were largely similar rearing data. Seasonal differed between sexes for most traits, including (relative) size measures wing colour. Our results suggest sex-related, plasticity morphological traits related flight behaviour multivoltine insect.