Data on expert assessments of colour pattern variation in Erebidae and Noctuidae moths in Sweden

Besides variation among animal species in ground colour and in the number,
size, shape, and distribution of pattern elements, there is also
considerable intraspecific variation in colour patterns that can manifest
both between populations inhabiting different environments, and among
individuals within populations. In previous investigations into the
consequences of inter-individual variation in colour patterns in moths we
have relied on a discrete classification with three categories:
non-variable; variable; or highly variable colour patterns, as jointly
assessed by Per-Eric Betzholtz and Markus Franzén (e.g., Forsman et al.
2015, 2016, Franzén et al. 2019). Here we provide the raw data from the
anonymized assessments of colour pattern variation of 489 species of
Erebidae and Noctuidae moths in Sweden performed by twelve
lepidopterologists with extensive experience and expertise of the moth
fauna in Sweden. In addition, the raw data (on a discrete scale) provided
by the experts is used to generate a continuously distributed measure of
the intra-specific colour pattern variation in moths. Despite variation
among the independent scorers in their assessments of the average level of
forewing colour pattern variation, there were statistically significant
consistent differences in average colour pattern variation among the
different species of moths (for details see Supporting Information I in
Betzholtz et al. 2019). References Betzholtz, P.-E., A. Forsman, and M.
Franzén. 2019. Inter-individual variation in colour patterns in noctuid
moths characterizes long-distance dispersers and agricultural pests.
Journal of Applied Entomology 143: 992-999. Forsman, A., P. E. Betzholtz,
and M. Franzén. 2015. Variable coloration is associated with dampened
population fluctuations in noctuid moths. Proceedings of the Royal Society
B 282: 20142922. Forsman, A., P. E. Betzholtz, and M. Franzén. 2016.
Faster poleward range shifts in moths with more variable colour patterns.
Scientific Reports 6: 36265. Franzén, M., P. E. Betzholtz, and A. Forsman.
2019. Variable color patterns influence continental range size and
species-area relationships on islands. Ecosphere 10: e02577.