Impact of Artificial Diet on Development and Coloration in Zerene Cesonia

Abstract

The development of artificial diets for Lepidopteran species is instrumental for the study of natural biological variation in controlled laboratory conditions. In this study, we test the ability to rear Zerene cesonia, a pierid species, on artificial diets containing varying amounts of two plant species: Dalea purpurea and Trifolium pratense. We evaluate the quality of each diet based on survivorship, developmental timing, and analyses of larval and adult coloration. This study concludes that diets that include the preferred host plant, D. purpurea, are best for rearing Z. cesonia based on survivorship and the ability to recapitulate the natural color variation observed in the wild.