Data from: Facultative pupal mating in Heliconius erato: implications for mate choice, female preference, and speciation

Mating systems have broad impacts on how sexual selection and mate choice operate within a species, but studies of mating behavior in the laboratory may not reflect how these processes occur in the wild. Here, we examined the mating behavior of the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato in the field by releasing larvae and virgin females and observing how they mated. H. erato is considered a pupal-mating species (i.e., males mate with females as they emerge from the pupal case). However, we observed only two teneral mating events, and experimentally released virgins were almost all mated upon recapture. Our study confirms the presence of some pupal-mating behavior in H. erato, but suggests that adult mating is likely the prevalent mating strategy in this species. These findings have important implications for the role of color pattern and female mate choice in the generation of reproductive isolation in this diverse genus.

交配系统对性选择与配偶选择在物种种内的运作模式具有广泛影响，但实验室中开展的交配行为研究往往无法反映这些过程在自然野外环境中的真实发生方式。本研究通过野外释放幼虫与处女雌蝶，并实地观察其交配行为，对新热带界蝴蝶红带釉蛱蝶（Heliconius erato）的野外交配模式展开了探究。H. erato此前被认为属于蛹交类群，即雄性会在雌蝶破蛹羽化时完成交配。但本次研究仅观测到2次初羽化交配事件，且实验释放的处女雌蝶在重捕时几乎均已完成交配。本研究证实红带釉蛱蝶确实存在一定程度的蛹交行为，但同时表明成虫交配大概率是该物种的主流交配策略。上述研究结果对于该多样蝶类属中体色图案与雌性配偶选择在生殖隔离形成过程中的作用，具有重要的学术启示意义。