Larval Performance in the Context of Ecological Diversification and Speciation in Lycaeides Butterflies

Table 3

Details of behavioral and ecological variation among taxa, specifically as variation relates to potential barriers to gene flow; see Figure 4 for a graphical interpretation of these traits in relation to gene flow. The descriptions of male mate discrimination refer to preferences of males for females of the other taxa. Details for larval performance refer to performance on the hosts of the other taxa relative to performance of the other taxa on those same plants.

	L. idas	Hybrid species	L. melissa
Egg adhesion	Yes	No	Yes
Preference for natal host(s)	Moderate	High	Low to high
Male mate discrimination	Against L. melissa and hybrid species	Against L. idas	None
Voltinism	Univoltine	Univoltine	Multivoltine
Larval performance	Poor on hosts of L. melissa; superior on host of hybrid species	Poor on hosts of both L. melissa and L. idas	Equivalent on hosts of L. idas and superior on host of hybrid species

Further information on specific behavioral and ecological variables (other than larval performance, reported here) can be found as follows: egg adhesion [23], preference for natal hosts [17, 19, 22], male mate discrimination [16], and voltinism [23].