Multiple mating reduces longevity of females of the windmill butterfly <i>Atrophaneura alcinous</i>

Abstract

Summary 1. The effects of successive matings by females on their performance were tested in laboratory experiments and field censuses for the windmill butterfly Atrophaneura alcinous . 2. In laboratory experiments, newly eclosed females were hand‐paired either once or twice successively. The number of eggs laid and the sucrose solution intake of these females were examined daily. Fecundity and sucrose solution intake did not differ significantly between once‐ and twice‐mated females, however the longevity of twice‐mated females was significantly shorter than that of once‐mated females, implying that successive matings involve a physiological cost. 3. The results of a mark–release–recapture census in a natural population also indicated that multiply mated females could not survive for as long as once‐mated females. 4. The results did not support the general consideration that multiple mating is beneficial to females in Lepidoptera. The importance of the timing of remating by females on the consequences of multiple mating is discussed.