Larval Development and Survival of Mimetic and Non-Mimetic Female Papilio polytes Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) Reared in Captivity in Taiwan.

Females Papilio polytes Linnaeus, 1758 (Papilionidae), the common Mormon butterfly, exhibit two distinct forms: one resembles conspecific males; the other resembles an unpalatable model, Pachliopta aristolochia (Fabricius, 1775) (Papilionidae), to which P. polytes females are often assumed to be Batesian mimics. Although females P. polytes carrying the gene for mimicry have a greater chance of avoiding predation, the mimetic gene is accompanied by trade-offs such as the number of eggs laid, hatching rate, larval survival rate, and adult lifespan. Based on 400 P. polytes larvae reared under captivity on Citrus limon (Linnaeus) Osbeck (Rutaceae), the mimetic form develops faster and some of its instars are longer than their non-mimetic counterparts. Also, the number of offspring (larvae and pupae) from mimetic females is lower (although not statistically significant) than the number from non-mimetic females. Hence, the retention of the mimetic gene in wild populations is consistent with the hypothesis that the benefit of adult mimicry outweighs the physiological maladies that could be manifested in the larvae and/or pupae of mimetic P. polytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]