A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits

Interspecific variation in body size is one of the most popular topics in comparative studies. Despite recent advances, little is still known about the patterns and processes behind the evolution of body size in insects. Here, we used a robust data set comprising all geometrid moth species occurring in Northern Europe to examine the evolutionary associations involving body size and several life-history traits under an explicitly phylogenetic framework. We provided new insights into the interactive effects of life-history traits on body size and evidence of correlated evolution. We further established the sequence of trait evolution linking body size with the life-history traits correlated with it. We found that most (but not all) of the studied life-history traits, to some extent, interfered with interspecific variation in body size, but interactive effects were uncommon. Both bi- and multivariate phylogenetic analyses indicated that larger species tend to be nocturnal flyers, overwinte..., , , # Data from: A comparative study of body size evolution in moths: Evidence of correlated evolution with feeding and phenology-related traits

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zm2](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zm2)

This repository contains the trait data & phylogeny used in the study \"A Comparative Study of Body Size Evolution in Moths: Evidence of Correlated Evolution with Feeding and Phenology-Related Traits\" published on the *Journal of Evolutionary Biology*.

## Description of the data and file structure

* `geom_traits_dbm.csv` Table with 372 rows (species) and 13 columns (traits). It contains the trait data for the geometrid species. Columns 2 to 4 contains mean, standard deviation, and standard error of dry masses (in the natural logarithm scale) calculated for each species, respectively. The column *overwinter* indicates the life stage at which each species undergo overwinter (larva, egg, pupa, adult); column *foodplant* contains iformation on the host-plant gro...