Chew Frances S
Department of Biology, Tufts University, 02155, Medford, Massachusetts, USA.
Oecologia. 1980 Sep;46(3):347-353. doi: 10.1007/BF00346263.
Larvae of five Nearctic Pieris butterflies accept a wide range of native and naturalized crucifers under laboratory test conditions. Preferences among crucifers are usually statistical rather than absolute. Caterpillars do not necessarily reject plants that do not support larval growth in favor of those that do. Preferences are not significantly altered by larval development or prior experience with specific foodplant species. Progeny of different females do not exhibit significantly different preferences. Retention of behavioral flexibility by Pieris may enable older larvae to exploit alternative resources not suitable for young larvae.
在实验室测试条件下，五种新北区粉蝶的幼虫能接受多种本地和归化的十字花科植物。十字花科植物之间的偏好通常是统计学上的，而非绝对的。毛虫不一定会拒绝那些不支持幼虫生长的植物，转而青睐那些支持生长的植物。幼虫的发育或对特定食草植物物种的先前经验并不会显著改变偏好。不同雌性的后代没有表现出显著不同的偏好。粉蝶保持行为灵活性可能使大龄幼虫能够利用不适合小龄幼虫的替代资源。
