Abstract:
The oviposition behaviour and distribution of the e
ggs of carpophagous
Virachola livia
Klug (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) was studied on pomeg
ranate for six years. Taylor’s
power law and Iwao’s mean patchiness regression, an
d common
k
proved the aggregated
distribution of the eggs on pomegranate fruits. The
butterflies tend to oviposit one egg per
fruit, indicating the existence of conspecific egg
avoidance behaviour. The study showed
that the selection of oviposition sites was affecte
d by the part of the fruit body and the
cardinal direction of the tree canopy. Results sugg
est that the oviposition behavior of
V.
livia
and, consequently, the distribution of the eggs ma
y be regulated by the conspecific
aggregation and conspecific egg avoidance. It is ap
parent that the butterfly integrates
these two behaviors to maximize the success of its
reproduction.
Keywords:
Conspecific egg avoidance, Pomegranate, Oviposition
site, Oman.
