Variation in Morphophysiological Traits of Male and Female Aporia crataegi L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Depending on the Timing of Adult Emergence

Abstract

The correlation between the timing of adult emergence and variation in morphophysiological parameters of males and females has been analyzed in the black-veined white Aporia crataegi L. In 2013 to 2015, black-veined white butterflies were collected from a natural population in the south of Sverdlovsk oblast throughout the emergence period; at the same time, adult insects were reared from pupae in individual cages. Comparison of the field observations in nature and the results of rearing preimaginal stages has shown that the largest adults are the first to emerge, while the smallest are the last to emerge. This pattern holds true both for the parameters varying throughout the adult insect life (body weight and relative abdomen weight) and for the permanent characteristic of the “structural” size (wing area). The influence of protandry and food availability to caterpillars on the variation in the size of adult A. crataegi during the period of generation emergence is discussed.