Abstract
We assessed potential adult longevity and male choice for a mate in two populations of Asteralobia sasakii associated with Ilex crenata and I. integra to test the hypothesis that interbreeding between these populations is prevented by the difference in emergence timing in the field. A previous study showed that the last day of adult emergence on I. integra and the first day of adult emergence on I. crenata were separated by six to 11 days. When adults were maintained in the laboratory with restricted flying, mating and oviposition, adults from both populations survived for four to five days, suggesting that the period when adults were active did not overlap between the two populations in the field. The mate choice test showed that males clearly approached females of the same host origin. These results suggest that the two populations have little chance of interbreeding even when they occur sympatrically. Other life history parameters such as the number of eggs in the ovary, daily emergence pattern, sex ratio and the duration of copulation also varied between the two populations. Our overall results strongly suggest that the two populations on different host plants can be referred to as distinct species.
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