Data from: A scenario for the evolution of selective egg colouration: the roles of enemy-free space, camouflage, thermoregulation, and pigment limitation

Behavioural plasticity can drive the evolution of new traits in animals.
In oviparous species, plasticity in oviposition behaviour could promote
the evolution of new egg traits by exposing them to different selective
pressures in novel oviposition sites. Individual females of the predatory
stink bug Podisus maculiventris are able to selectively colour their eggs
depending on leaf side, laying lightly pigmented eggs on leaf undersides
and more pigmented eggs, which are more resistant to ultraviolet (UV)
radiation damage, on leaf tops. Here, we propose an evolutionary scenario
for P. maculiventris egg pigmentation and its selective application. We
experimentally tested the influence of several ecological factors that:
(i) could have favoured a behavioural shift towards laying eggs on leaf
tops and thus the evolution of a UV-protective egg pigment (i.e.
exploitation of enemy-reduced space or a thermoregulatory benefit) and
(ii) could have subsequently led to the evolution of selective pigment
application (i.e. camouflage or costly pigment production). We found
evidence that a higher predation pressure on leaf undersides could have
caused a shift in oviposition effort towards leaf tops. We also found the
first evidence of an insect egg pigment providing a thermoregulatory
advantage. Our study contributes to an understanding of how plasticity in
oviposition behaviour could shape the responses of organisms to ecological
factors affecting their reproductive success, spurring the evolution of
new morphological traits.