Ultraviolet signaling in a butterfly is preferred by females and conveys male genetic quality

Indicator models of sexual selection posit that females chose males on the basis of traits that reveal male genetic quality and thereby enjoy increased offspring production. Here we report that females of the butterfly Eurema hecabe receive indirect benefits from choosing males based on their UV wing colouration, a heritable and condition-dependent trait in this species. We first used a large laboratory-bred pedigree to demonstrate a per-family association between inbreeding and male UV trait value. Females exerted choice for UV-bright males within this protocol, and average male UV trait value increased over six consecutive generations presumably due to such selection and despite an increasing rate of pedigree-wide inbreeding. We then experimentally imposed a standard strength of inbreeding upon lines of divergent male UV trait value. Inbreeding depressed the siring performance of low-UV treatment males more severely and resulted in a marginal reduction of their UV brightness, which re..., Data collected from a pedigree-based breeding experiment and associated laboratory-based experiments with the butterfly species Eurema hecabe. , , # Ultraviolet signaling in a butterfly is preferred by females and conveys male genetic quality

\"**Pedigree analysis**\" dataset provides mean values for male ultraviolet reflectance (UVR) and yellow chroma (YCR) in N = 111 families across the F3 - F6 generations of a laboratory-reared pedigree of *Eurema hecabe*. \"**Inbreeding experiment**\" dataset provides UVR values for individuals of high- versus low-UV provenance across outbred, inbred and outcrossed laboratory-bred generations. \"**Mate choice experiment**\" dataset provides UVR and YCR values for individuals that either mated or failed to mate under a laboratory-based mating experiment.

## Description of the data and file structure

Explanation of variables in the \"**Pedigree analysis**\" dataset:

CASE = arbitrary case number

Generation = generation of the pedigree

FAMILY ID = unique numeric identifier for each full-sibling family within the pedigree

SONS N = the number of sons in each full-sibling family

F-COEFFICIENT = the...