The fecundity and long-term variability in abundance of noctuid moths (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae).

The relationship between fecundity and long-term adult fluctuations of 29 temperate noctuid moths was investigated and is explained in terms of the r- and K-selection strategies. The potential population growth rate per year (PGR) and the "rate of return to equilibrium" (sensu Pimm 1982) have been calculated and correlated with generation-to-generation fluctuations. A highly significant correlation was found between PGR and the coefficient of generation-to-generation variation. The r-strategy species possess the highest PGR, the highest generation-to-generation coefficient of variation and their larvae are polyphagous. Species with typical features of K-strategists exhibit the lowest PGR values and the lowest generation-to-generation coefficients of variation. Their larvae seem to be exclusively oligophagous.