Egg-laying Habits of Lepidoptera in Relation to Available Food

Abstract

Entomologists interested in population dynamics have devoted considerable attention to the numbers of eggs laid by various species of insects, the mortality and non-viability of eggs, and mortality in young larvae; but there is another aspect of the problem which has received less attention than it deserves. This is the necessity for females to place their eggs sufficiently close to an adequate supply of food to insure the growth and development of the F, generation. Fulfillment of this requirement is particularly important for those species whose larvae are restricted feeders, that is, monophagous or oligophagous. It is generally assumed that the continued existence of a species is evidence that the eggs are always properly placed. As a consequence of this assumption very few quantitative studies have been undertaken, with the result that the contribution of the adult's behaviour to the degree of survival in larval populations is unknown. The following field studies were undertaken to supply some information on this score.