Post by saye on May 4, 2016 11:47:29 GMT -8
Hello everyone. Over the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to see, for the first time, the eclosion of adult S. pyri moths. As can be read here, females are quite heavy and will begin to lay eggs in progression, from short distance to short distance, until (presumably) they are capable of full flight. From this, I quickly wondered what would be the behaviour of a non-mated female, in the sense of immediate unavailability of a male for copulation after the first night. Or, in a question, does a female lay unfertilized eggs in order to be able to fly? Can the behaviour be interpreted as the same, whether the female copulated or not?
With the number of eggs given in the linked page (about 30) in mind, I found out that a female can lay at least 78 unfertilized eggs. Most were laid on the locations seen on the photos. Following the idea that the females need to lose egg-load for free flight, can it be presumed they are ready to waste that number? What percentage of their total egg-load would this number be?
Particularly for the saturniid enthusiasts. Is this behaviour found across other genera? Is a heavy, flight-incapable female the general rule for the family?
Thanks.
With the number of eggs given in the linked page (about 30) in mind, I found out that a female can lay at least 78 unfertilized eggs. Most were laid on the locations seen on the photos. Following the idea that the females need to lose egg-load for free flight, can it be presumed they are ready to waste that number? What percentage of their total egg-load would this number be?
Particularly for the saturniid enthusiasts. Is this behaviour found across other genera? Is a heavy, flight-incapable female the general rule for the family?
Thanks.
