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Egg‐laying by the speckled wood butterfly ( Pararge aegeria ): the role of female behaviour, host plant abundance and temperature
Author(s) -
SHREEVE T. G.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2311.1986.tb00298.x
Subject(s) - biology , abundance (ecology) , butterfly , woodland , host (biology) , ecology , biological dispersal , range (aeronautics) , zoology , botany , population , demography , sociology , materials science , composite material
.1 Egg‐laying by Pararge aegeria (L.) was studied in relation to host plant abundance, temperature and behaviour in one woodland site in central England. 2 Eggs were laid on the undersides of leaves of fifteen of thirty‐one species of grass located in the study site. Most were deposited singly although on several occasions a number of females laid on a single leaf. 3 There was no clear relationship between host plant abundance and host plant use, the species used being widespread and abundant. 4 Most eggs were laid on plants within the temperature range 24–30°C. In spring and later summer these sites were in sunlit open areas but in midsummer they were in the woodland ground layer. 5 Females distributed their eggs over a large area, usually making a dispersal flight after laying an egg.