Unpredictable environments, nuptial gifts and the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in insects: an experiment

Abstract

Many insects have a mating system where males transfer nutrients to females at mating, which are often referred to as ‘nuptial gifts’. Among butterflies, some of the characteristic features of these species are polyandry (females mate multiple times), and relatively large male ejaculates. When males produce part of the resources used for offspring, the value of body size might then increase for males and decrease for females. The male/female size ratio is also observed to increase when the degree of polyandry and gift size increase. Butterfly species where gift–giving occurs are generally more variable in body size, suggesting that food quality/quantity fluctuates during juvenile stages. This will cause some males to have much to provide and some females to be in great need, and could be conducive to the evolution of a gift–giving mating system. In such a system, growing male and female juveniles should react differently to food shortage. Females should react by maturing at a smaller size since their own lack of reproductive resources can partly be compensated for by male contributions. Males have to pay the full cost of decreased reproduction if they mature at a small size, making it more important for males to keep on growing, even when growth is costly. An earlier experiment with the polyandrous and gift–giving butterfly, Pieris napi, supported this prediction. The pattern is expected to be absent or reversed for species with small nuptial gifts, where females do not benefit from mating repeatedly, and will thus be dependent on acquiring resources for reproduction on their own. To test this prediction, we report here on an experiment with the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. We find that growth response correlates with mating system in the two above species, and we conclude that differences in environmental conditions between species may act as an important factor in the evolution of the mating system and sexual size dimorphism.