larger, while the total number of eggs she lays is lessened. These initial beliefs have been

confirmed in many recent studies (Azevedo et al. 1996; Yampolski & Scheiner 1996; Atkinson

et al. 2001; Fischer et al. 2003, 2006a, 2006b; Steingenga & Fischer 2007) and could provide

insight into butterfly emergence and dispersal patterns. This plasticity between egg size and

clutch size is not an even trade-off, however, as total reproductive investment must be increased

at higher temperatures (Avelar 1993; Ernsting & Isaaks 1997, 2000; Fischer et al. 2003). For

example, lifetime fecundity was almost twice as high at 270 C than at 200 C in a study by Fischer

et al (2003). Although the mother' s biological response of egg size and clutch size to

temperature was gradual (two to three days of cold could alter egg laying behavior) in Fischer et

al.'s study (2003), it was also found to be reversible after two to three days of warm weather.

We can surmise from these studies that oviposition will be in greater numbers in warmer

environments than in colder environments.

Oviposition Preference

 Most butterflies are oligophagous. This habit of feeding on host plants from a very

limited number of plant families, oftentimes only a single family, suggests that there may be

basic similarities within plant families that signal or cue a butterfly to oviposit (Feeny 1991).

The host plant may be attracting the butterfly by exuding a chemical, visual, or tactile cue. In

any case, it is the j ob of the adult butterfly to choose the best host plant for its soon-to-be

offspring. Larvae of many phytophagous and holometabolous insects are to a certain degree

immobile and are not able to search for appropriate food over comparatively large distances

(Rausher 1979a). Females that oviposit on plants with low larval survivorship or poor larval

growth will likely leave fewer descendents than females that oviposit on the more suitable host