Temperatures in the Cothill habitat of Panaxia (Callimorpha) dominula L. (the scarlet tiger moth)

Abstract

Temperatures were monitored in precisely the places in Cothill Fen in which larvae of Panaxia dominula pupate. At the critical time in June, the temperatures in the litter layer are diurnally often much higher than those used in previous constant temperature experiments. Moreover, the daily mean temperature in the shaded litter layer is also higher than the shaded air temperature at 0.4 m, both temperatures being higher than the estimate of 12°C used as baseline by others. The effects of fluctuating temperatures in the natural habitat on the phenotypic expression of wing patterns of the moth appear to be minimal and do not parallel the results of laboratory experiments.