The mating system of Vanessa kershawi: males defend landmark territories as mate encounter sites

Abstract

Males of Vanessa kershawi (McCoy) occupy perch territories in the late afternoon in sunspots on hilltops and other locations in southwestern Australia. Perching males respond to intruders with chasing and ascending flights, with some individuals defending the same perch site for several consecutive afternoons. Females visit territories strictly to mate and not to use any resources in these areas. In the absence of hilltops males wait at sites where topography and local vegetation create passageways that might channel dispersing females to them. Landmark-based mating systems of this sort appear to evolve in species whose females are highly dispersed because of the distribution of the food and oviposition resources that they exploit."