Studies on the Mating Behavior of the Pale Grass Blue, Zizeeria maha argia (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) I. Recognition of conspecific individuals by flying males

Abstract

Preliminary observations and experimental analyses were made on the mating behavior of the pale grass blue, Zizeeria maha argia. Adult emergence took place from about 18: 00 to 11: 00 and flight behavior of adult butterflies could be seen from 8: 00 to 18: 00. Males flying in search of females approached any male or female resting with wings closed. Field experiments with a variety of models revealed that males were generally attracted not only by wing-closed females but also by wing-closed males. Furthermore, males were also attracted by an undersurface model of the same size as the pale grass blue. In this experiment attraction of the male to the wing undersurface was observed regardless of the model shape, although the model size was of primary importance. Spectroscopic examination showed that the reflectivity pattern of the wing undresuface in both sexes was approximately similar. It therefore seemed that the sexual behavior of the flying males was first of all released by the color of the wing undersurface, and not of the uppersurface. Thus, male adults discover conspecifric individuals by means of recognizing the color of the wing undersurface. © 1976, JAPANESE SOCIETY OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY. All rights reserved.