Summary
Individual adult butterflies of the species Maniola jurtina vary in the number of subterminal spots on the undersurface of the hind-wing. The incidence of this spotting differs between the sexes, males usually having more spots than the females. The character shows a variable heritability, depending upon sex and temperature. Two adjacent populations were studied in Worcestershire between 1970 and 1974. Individuals were caught and marked, their spot number, size and subsequent capture were recorded. There is no difference in the occurrence of the various spot categories between the sites, nor within a single season. The incidence of two-spotted males and unspotted females declined over the 5 years. Higher-spotted individuals showed corresponding increases in both sexes. Differences in survival have been found between the spot classes that could explain these changes. It is argued that the heritabilities are low, and that caution is necessary in interpreting the phenotypic changes as due to selection.
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Tudor, O., Parkin, D. Studies on phenotypic variation in Maniola jurtina (Lepidoptera: Satyridae) in the wyre forest, England. Heredity 42, 91–104 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1979.9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1979.9
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