Female asynchrony may drive disruptive sexual selection on male mating phenotypes in a Heliconius butterfly

Abstract

Alternative male phenotypes may be a source of novel adaptive traits and may evolve under strong sexual selection. We studied interpopulation differences in male mating behavior related to receptive female synchrony in the monandrous pupal-mating butterfly Heliconius charitonia. In the population in which female-receptive pupae were more synchronous, larger males were unable to monopolize mates; variance in male mating success was lower; strength of sexual selection was weak; and all males competed for access to female pupae using the same strategy (pupal mating). In the population where no more than one female was receptive at a time (extreme asynchrony), only large males competed for pupae, and among these, only the largest individuals successfully mated. Thus, variance in mating success was higher, and sexual selection within pupal maters was stronger. In this population, smaller males patrolled large areas as an alternative mating behavior. When unmated females were experimentally released, small male size was associated with higher mating success. We suggest that alternative patrolling behavior may have evolved under strong sexual selection as a consequence of high asynchrony in receptive female availability in some populations.

Do Feeding Resources Induce the Adoption of Resource Defence Polygyny in a Lekking Butterfly?

“…Consequently, males may defend a mating site irrespective of the presence of resources (e.g. Mendoza‐Cuenca & Macías‐Ordoñez 2010). In this context, strong differences in mating success among alternative territorial sites may not occur, and maybe, only non‐territorial males should incur in lower mating success (e.g.…”

Facultative pupal mating in Heliconius erato: Implications for mate choice, female preference, and speciation

“…Before releasing larvae, we attempted to catch, mark, and release all adult males at each site. Studies with H. charithonia have suggested that male size is correlated with mating strategy, and a bimodal distribution of male wing sizes has been interpreted as evidence of coexisting mating strategies (Mendoza‐Cuenca & Macías‐Ordóñez, ). Therefore, we measured each male's wing length (from the base to the tip of the left forewing).…”

“…Insectary studies have also shown that H. charithonia males use host plants to find immatures and distinguish male and female pupae using chemical cues (Estrada & Gilbert, ; Estrada et al., ). However, Mendoza‐Cuenca and Macías‐Ordóñez () also found evidence of adult mating in a population of H. charithonia with highly asynchronous female pupal emergence. Males with smaller wings, likely to be unsuccessful competing for female pupae, instead patrolled territories and were observed to mate with experimentally released adult virgin females (Mendoza‐Cuenca & Macías‐Ordóñez, ).…”

“…Though many Heliconius are considered pupal‐mating species (e.g., in Brown, ; Beltrán et al., ), formal study of this behavior is mostly limited to two species. Studies of wild populations of H. hewitsoni and H. charithonia have described a suite of searching and mate‐guarding behaviors associated with pupal mating (Deinert, ; Deinert et al., ; Mendoza‐Cuenca & Macías‐Ordóñez, ). Insectary studies have also shown that H. charithonia males use host plants to find immatures and distinguish male and female pupae using chemical cues (Estrada & Gilbert, ; Estrada et al., ).…”

Altitude and life‐history shape the evolution ofHeliconiuswings

“…). Wing morphology is involved in many aspects of Heliconius biology other than mimicry, such as mating or flight mode, but these have been less well studied (Rodrigues and Moreira ; Srygley ; Mendoza‐Cuenca and MacÍas‐Ordóñez ). As the only butterflies that pollen‐feed, their long life‐spans and enlarged brains allow them to memorize foraging transects that are repeated daily following a short dispersal post‐emergence phase of up to 1.5 km (Cook et al.…”