Larval growth rate is not a major determinant of adult wing shape and eyespot size in the seasonally polyphenic butterfly <i>Melanitis leda</i>
Reaction norms were similar to those found in Mycalesina butterflies. We found that both among and within treatments, larvae with lower growth rates (low temperature, particular host plants) were more likely to develop dry-season phenotypes (small eyespots, falcate wing tips). However, among temperature treatments, similar growth rates could lead to very different wing phenotypes, and within treatments the relationships were weak. Moreover, males and females responded differently, and eyespot size and wing shape were not strongly correlated with each other. Overall, larval growth rate seems to be weakly related to eyespot size and wing shape, indicating that seasonal plasticity in <i>M. leda</i> is primarily mediated by other mechanisms.
Authors
- Sridhar Halali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9960-3682)
- Ullasa Kodandaramaiah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1564-1738)
- Vicencio Oostra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1273-1906)
- Freerk Molleman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6551-266X)
- Erik van Bergen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9648-9837)
- Dheeraj Halali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3702-5175)
- Megan E. Moore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7390-5562)
- Paul M. Brakefield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6564-8914)
Institutions
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- Lund University (SE)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health (US)
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IN)
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PeerJ
- Published
- 2024-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18295
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.15
Funders
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki