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Summary: Oviposition choice and larval survival
of an obligately pollinating
granivorous moth
J. Nathaniel Holland,* Amanda L. Buchanan
and Rachel Loubeau
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona,
Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
ABSTRACT
Animal species not investing in parental care can nevertheless influence the success of their
progeny by actively selecting sites that are most favourable for their growth and survival.
Primarily through the study of phytophagous insects, it has become clear that oviposition
behaviour, and choice of oviposition sites in particular, can increase the performance and
survival of insect progeny. Such oviposition behaviour is largely driven by variation in the
environment. In this study, we examined oviposition choice and larval survival of the senita
moth (Upiga virescens), which is an obligately pollinating granivore of a single host plant, the
senita cactus (Lophocereus schottii). Although senita moths oviposit only on open flowers of
senita cacti, eggs are laid among four relatively discrete sites on flowers: between or underneath
petals, on the outward-facing side of petals, on anthers and within the corolla tube. In a
population of senita cacti in southern Arizona, we quantified the distribution of eggs among
flowers and plants, the distribution of eggs among oviposition sites, and larval (egg-to-pupa)
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