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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Exploring Life History Choices: Using Temperature and Substrate Type as Interacting Factors for Blowfly Larval and Female Preferences
Published on: November 17, 2023
Individual variation in oviposition preference in the butterfly, Colias eurytheme
Bruce E Tabashnik1, Heather Wheelock1, John D Rainbolt1
1Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 94305, Stanford, California, USA.
Abstract:
We examined intra-population variation in oviposition preference in the pierid butterfly, Colias eurytheme. Females' preferences were tested in the laboratory, using two-way choice tests between the potential hosts, alfalfa and vetch. There were consistent differences in oviposition preference among females within a population. Larval and adult experience had little or no effect on females' preference. These results suggest that the intra-population variation in oviposition preference is genetically based, but the results of experiments designed to estimate the heritability of oviposition preference were not conclusive. We suggest that intra-population variation in host selection characters may play a key role in shifts to new host plants.
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