Diapause and the host plant affiliations of lycaenid butterflies
Abstract
Results of three years of study on the host plant affiliations of two lycaenid butterfly species (Lycaenidae) suggest that differences between the two butterflies in host plant range, plant tissue oviposited on by adults and consumed by larvae, larval growth rates, and adult flight season may be consequences of a difference in diapause stage: one species diapauses as a pupa; the other as a larva. The experimental results and logic leading to this conclusion are summarized. The generality of the correlation between diapause stage and host plant relations are tested through a survey of North American and British lycaenids. Significant relatonships are found. Egg-diapausing species tend to utilize woody hosts and be univoltine. Host range is intermediate. Larval-diapausing species utilize leaves of herbaceous plants and have narrow host ranges
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