Courtship solicitation by Colias females (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Females in the Colias eurytheme - C. philodice species complex may sometimes approach and chase patrolling males. Chases that were elicited by presenting tethered males to free-flying females generally lasted less than 4 sec and their duration was not related to any of several measures of female rep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American midland naturalist 1981-04, Vol.105 (2), p.334-340
Main Authors: Rutowski, Ronald L., Long, Cruz E., Marshall, Larry D., Vetter, Richard S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alfalfa
Butterflies
Colias eurytheme
Colias philodice
Criminal solicitation
Female animals
Hybridity
Male animals
Mating behavior
Phenotypes
Population density
Spermatophores
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Summary:Females in the Colias eurytheme - C. philodice species complex may sometimes approach and chase patrolling males. Chases that were elicited by presenting tethered males to free-flying females generally lasted less than 4 sec and their duration was not related to any of several measures of female reproductive condition. However, the probability that mated females approached males was directly related to the degree of depletion of the contents of spermatophores received in previous matings. These observations suggest that females that approach males are doing so to solicit male court-ship attempts and potentially remate to receive a fresh spermatophore. These results are compared and contrasted with reports of similar behavior in other butterflies.
ISSN:0003-0031
1938-4238
DOI:10.2307/2424751