Meadow Brown Butterfly Research Articles

Eyespot variation and field temperature in the Meadow Brown butterfly.

Since the classic work of E.B. Ford, explanations for eyespot variation in the Meadow Brown butterfly have focused on the role of genetic polymorphism. The potential role of thermal plasticity in this classic example of natural selection has therefore been overlooked. Here, we use large daily field collections of butterflies from three sites, over multiple years, to examine whether field temperature is correlated with eyespot variation, using the same presence/absence scoring as Ford. We show that higher developmental temperature in the field leads to the disappearance of the spots visible while the butterfly is at rest, explaining the historical observation that hindwing spotting declines across the season. Strikingly, females developing at 11°C have a median of six spots and those developing at 15°C only have three. In contrast, the large forewing eyespot is always present and scales with forewing length. Furthermore, in contrast to the smaller spots, the size of the large forewing spot is best explained by calendar date (days since 1st March) rather than the temperature at pupation. As this large forewing spot is involved in startling predators and/or sexual selection, its constant presence is therefore likely required for defence, whereas the disappearance of the smaller spots over the season may help with female crypsis. We model annual total spot variation with phenological data from the UK and derive predictions as to how spot patterns will continue to change, predicting that female spotting will decrease year on year as our climate warms.

The influence of chalk grasslands on butterfly phenology and ecology.

The influence of large‐scale variables such as climate change on phenology has received a great deal of research attention. However, local environmental factors also play a key role in determining the timing of species life cycles. Using the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina as an example, we investigate how a specific habitat type, lowland calcareous grassland, can affect the timing of flight dates. Although protracted flight periods have previously been reported in populations on chalk grassland sites in the south of England, no attempt has yet been made to quantify this at a national level, or to assess links with population genetics and drought tolerance. Using data from 539 sites across the UK, these differences in phenology are quantified, and M. jurtina phenology is found to be strongly associated with both site geology and topography, independent of levels of abundance. Further investigation into aspects of M. jurtina ecology at a subset of sites finds no genetic structuring or drought tolerance associated with these same site conditions.

The use of ecological models to assess the effects of a plant protection product on ecosystem services provided by an orchard

The objective of this case study was to explore the feasibility of using ecological models for applying an ecosystem services-based approach to environmental risk assessment using currently available data and methodologies. For this we used a 5 step approach: 1) selection of environmental scenario, 2) ecosystem service selection, 3) development of logic chains, 4) selection and application of ecological models and 5) detailed ecosystem service assessment. The study system is a European apple orchard managed according to integrated pest management principles. An organophosphate insecticide was used as the case study chemical. Four ecosystem services are included in this case study: soil quality regulation, pest control, pollination and recreation. Logic chains were developed for each ecosystem service and describe the link between toxicant effects on service providing units and ecosystem services delivery. For the soil quality regulation ecosystem service, springtails and earthworms were the service providing units, for the pest control ecosystem service it was ladybirds, for the pollination ecosystem service it was honeybees and for the recreation ecosystem service it was the meadow brown butterfly. All the ecological models addressed the spatio-temporal magnitude of the direct effects of the insecticide on the service providing units and ecological production functions were used to extrapolate these outcomes to the delivery of ecosystem services. For all ecosystem services a decision on the acceptability of the modelled and extrapolated effects on the service providing units could be made using the protection goals as set by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Developing quantitative ecological production functions for extrapolation of ecosystem services delivery from population endpoints remains one of the major challenges. We feel that the use of ecological models can greatly add to this development, although the further development of existing ecological models, and of new models, is needed for this.

Impact of floral nectar limitation on life-history traits in a grassland butterfly relative to nectar supply in different agricultural landscapes

Wild flower diversity and abundance are strongly reduced in intensive agricultural landscapes. Flower-visiting insects may, therefore, experience limited nectar quantities and qualities. Adult insects that rely on energy-rich nectar income for flight, survival and reproduction are expected to be much more affected than insects that rely on their larval reserves. We dealt with this issue at the intraspecific level by comparing the responses of several life-history traits to different nectar diets between meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) originating from relative intensively managed and extensively managed agricultural landscapes. We used outdoor flight cages in which we simulated factorial treatments of low/high nectar quality and low/high quantity. Survival was highest in the high nectar quantity and quality treatment. Individuals from intensive landscapes were heavier, which is in line with predictions on increased capital breeding, and they survived better than those from extensive landscapes, of which the females lost body mass in all treatments. Females from intensive landscapes were able to buffer, or even increase, their body mass in the high nectar quantity treatments, but the differences with females from extensive landscapes disappeared under low nectar quantities (independent of nectar quality). In males, body mass losses were always larger for individuals from extensive landscapes compared to individuals from intensive landscapes. Forty percent of the females showed complete reproductive failure in the low quantity/low quality treatment compared to c. 7% in the other treatments. In the low quantity/low quality treatment, realized fecundity decreased strongly in females from intensive, but not extensive landscapes. Egg size was not affected by landscape of origin in the high-quality nectar treatments, but showed very different responses relative to landscape of origin in the treatments with low-quality nectar. Our results showed strong effects of reduced nectar supply on fitness-related traits, and responses were different between butterflies originating from landscapes with contrasted nectar diet. Hence, different levels of agricultural intensification changing the quantity and quality of the local nectar supply could pave the way for ecological differentiation of the organism’s behaviour, physiology and life history.

EB Ford revisited: assessing the long-term stability of wing-spot patterns and population genetic structure of the meadow brown butterfly on the Isles of Scilly

Understanding selection in the wild remains a major aim of evolutionary ecology and work by Ford and colleagues on the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina did much to ignite this agenda. A great deal of their work was conducted during the 1950s on the Isles of Scilly. They documented island-specific wing-spot patterns that remained consistent over about a decade, but patterns on some islands changed after environmental perturbation. It was suggested that these wing-spot patterns reflected island-specific selection and that there was little migration between islands. However, genetic studies to test the underlying assumption of restricted migration are lacking and it is also unknown whether the originally described wing-spot patterns have persisted over time. We therefore collected female butterflies from five of Ford’s original study locations, including three large islands (St Mary’s, St Martin’s and Tresco) and two small islands (Tean and St Helen’s). Wing-spot patterns had not changed appreciably over time on three of the islands (two large and one small), but were significantly different on the other two. Furthermore, analysis of 176 amplified fragment length polymorphisms revealed significant genome-wide differentiation among the five islands. Our findings are consistent with Ford’s conclusions that despite the close proximity of these islands, there is restricted gene flow among them.

Nectar resource limitation affects butterfly flight performance and metabolism differently in intensive and extensive agricultural landscapes.

Flight is an essential biological ability of many insects, but is energetically costly. Environments under rapid human-induced change are characterized by habitat fragmentation and may impose constraints on the energy income budget of organisms. This may, in turn, affect locomotor performance and willingness to fly. We tested flight performance and metabolic rates in meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) of two contrasted agricultural landscapes: intensively managed, nectar-poor (IL) versus extensively managed, nectar-rich landscapes (EL). Young female adults were submitted to four nectar treatments (i.e. nectar quality and quantity) in outdoor flight cages. IL individuals had better flight capacities in a flight mill and had lower resting metabolic rates (RMR) than EL individuals, except under the severest treatment. Under this treatment, RMR increased in IL individuals, but decreased in EL individuals; flight performance was maintained by IL individuals, but dropped by a factor 2.5 in EL individuals. IL individuals had more canalized (i.e. less plastic) responses relative to the nectar treatments than EL individuals. Our results show significant intraspecific variation in the locomotor and metabolic response of a butterfly to different energy income regimes relative to the landscape of origin. Ecophysiological studies help to improve our mechanistic understanding of the eco-evolutionary impact of anthropogenic environments on rare and widespread species.

Butterfly dispersal in farmland: a replicated landscape genetics study on the meadow brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina)

Anthropogenic activities readily result in the fragmentation of habitats such that species persistence increasingly depends on their ability to disperse. However, landscape features that enhance or limit individual dispersal are often poorly understood. Landscape genetics has recently provided innovative solutions to evaluate landscape resistance to dispersal. We studied the dispersal of the common meadow brown butterfly, Maniola jurtina, in agricultural landscapes, using a replicated study design and rigorous statistical analyses. Based on existing behavioral and life history research, we hypothesized that the meadow brown would preferentially disperse through its preferred grassy habitats (meadows and road verges) and avoid dispersing through woodlands and the agricultural matrix. Samples were collected in 18 study landscapes of 5 × 5 km in three contrasting agricultural French regions. Using circuit theory, least cost path and transect-based methods, we analyzed the effect of the landscape on gene flow separately for each sex. Analysis of 1681 samples with 6 microsatellites loci revealed that landscape features weakly influence meadow brown butterfly gene flow. Gene flow in both sexes appeared to be weakly limited by forests and arable lands, whereas grasslands and grassy linear elements (road verges) were more likely to enhance gene flow. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of greater dispersal through landscape elements that are most similar to suitable habitat. Our spatially replicated landscape genetics study allowed us to detect subtle landscape effects on butterfly gene flow, and these findings were reinforced by consistent results across analytical methods.

Floral resource limitation severely reduces butterfly survival, condition and flight activity in simplified agricultural landscapes

Agricultural intensification has a strong negative impact on farmland biodiversity (including flower-visiting insects), but understanding the mechanisms involved in this requires experimental work. We document the impact of nectar limitation on the performance of a flower-visiting insect, the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina. We conducted two types of experiments: a field experiment in agricultural landscapes with grasslands of different management intensity and an experiment in outdoor flight cages in which the nectar supply was simulated. For the field experiment, we introduced an array of nectar resources in intensively managed, nectar-poor meadows and in extensively managed, flower-rich grasslands and counted flower visitors. Despite higher butterfly abundance in the extensive meadows, our introduced nectar sources were more frequently visited in intensive meadows, indicating the lack of floral resources. The 48-h confinement under nectar-poor conditions in the flight cages had a strong negative effect on body condition, flight activity and lifetime survival compared to butterflies under nectar-rich conditions. Female lifespan was reduced by 22% and male lifespan even by 43%. Agricultural landscapes that provide limited amounts of floral nectar, and no high-quality, preferred nectar sources relative to the needs of the flower-visiting species, may create ecological sinks. Regards an insect's performance, the simple presence of nectar is not necessarily functionally adequate. The effectiveness of agri-environmental schemes for flower-visiting insects (e.g. flower strips) could be improved based on ecological and evolutionary insights on the effects of specific nectar quantities and qualities.

A Buzz in the Meadow A Buzz in the Meadow The Natural History of a French Farm Dave Goulson Picador, 2015. 281 pp.

![Figure][1] As urban centers grow around the world, more people are living farther from natural and agrarian spaces than ever before. Dave Goulson's A Buzz in the Meadow provides a glimpse into these spaces that often go unnoticed, exploring the natural histories of the flora and fauna on a farm in the French countryside. Along the way, the book takes many unexpected turns to much broader (and sometimes very personal) tales of scientific discovery. Goulson, a biologist by training, begins the book with a tour of Chez Nauche, the abandoned farm he purchased in the Charente region of southwestern France. He gives engaging accounts of the natural histories of the newts, dragonflies, mantises, and other animals he encounters, which are meant to inspire readers to explore their own yards. Goulson hopes that in doing so, they will begin to value not only the “large charismatic, furry or feathery creatures, often living on the other side of the world, glimpsed only in television documentaries” but also smaller, familiar organisms that affect our environment in profound ways. He makes special examples of the insect species living on the farm, using meadow brown butterflies to explain the beginnings of the field of genetics and flies to highlight the mismanagement of landfills. In the second part of the book, Goulson weaves tales of complex interactions between plants, animals, and fungi to illustrate the interconnectedness of life. He closes with an examination of the many factors that can lead to the decline and eventual extinction of species, focusing particularly on bumblebees, which he has studied throughout his scientific career. His conclusions are grim: We have, he claims, been culpable in the mass extinction of life on Earth since the beginning of our evolution. But Goulson's goal—“to encourage everyone to cherish what we have, and to illustrate what wonders we stand to lose if we do not change our ways”—is clear and resonates throughout the book. ![Figure][1] Biologist Dave Goulson urges us to cherish and protect life in all its forms. PHOTO: ANVAY NAKADE/FLICKR Many of the life histories, species interactions, and ecological concepts outlined in this book can be found elsewhere in published literature, but what stands out are the deeply personal insights Goulson provides into the life of a scientist. When discussing the many species he has studied over his career, he chronicles the trials, small victories, and failures of a young biologist. He also reveals the triumphs and frustrations that can come from attempting to communicate important scientific research to nonplussed policymakers and members of the public. His experiences will resonate with many scientists and will provide the general reader with an interesting and accessible glimpse into the life of a naturalist. [1]: pending:yes

Tracing the radiation of Maniola (Nymphalidae) butterflies: new insights from phylogeography hint at one single incompletely differentiated species complex.

The use of DNA sequence data often leads to the recognition of cryptic species within putatively well-known taxa. The opposite case, detecting less diversity than originally described, has, however, far more rarely been documented. Maniola jurtina, the Meadow Brown butterfly, occurs all over Europe, whereas all other six species in the genus Maniola are restricted to the Mediterranean area. Among them, three are island endemics on Sardinia, Cyprus, and Chios, respectively. Maniola species are almost indistinguishable morphologically, and hybridization seems to occur occasionally. To clarify species boundaries and diversification history of the genus, we reconstructed the phylogeography and phylogeny of all seven species within Maniola analyzing 138 individuals from across its range using mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers. Examination of variation in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA surprisingly revealed a case of taxonomic “oversplitting”. The topology of the recovered phylogenetic tree is not consistent with accepted taxonomy, but rather reveals haplotype clades that are incongruent with nominal species boundaries: instead of seven species, we recognized only two major, yet incompletely segregated, lineages. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that Maniola originated in Africa. We suggest that one lineage dispersed over the Strait of Gibraltar and the Iberian Peninsula to the west of Europe, while the other lineage spreads eastward through Asia Minor and over the Bosporus to Eastern Europe.

What prolongs a butterfly's life?: Trade-offs between dormancy, fecundity and body size.

In butterflies, life span often increases only at the expense of fecundity. Prolonged life span, on the other hand, provides more opportunities for oviposition. Here, we studied the association between life span and summer dormancy in two closely related species of Palearctic Meadow Brown butterflies, the endemic Maniola nurag and the widespread M. jurtina, from two climatic provenances, a Mediterranean and a Central European site, and tested the relationships between longevity, body size and fecundity. We experimentally induced summer dormancy and hence prolonged the butterflies’ life in order to study the effects of such a prolonged life. We were able to modulate longevity only in Mediterranean females by rearing them under summer photoperiodic conditions (light 16 h : dark 8 h), thereby more than doubling their natural life span, to up to 246 days. Central European individuals kept their natural average live span under all treatments, as did Mediterranean individuals under autumn treatment (light 11: dark 13). Body size only had a significant effect in the smaller species, M. nurag, where it affected the duration of dormancy and lifetime fecundity. In the larger species, M. jurtina, a prolonged adult life span did, surprisingly, not convey any fecundity loss. In M. nurag, which generally deposited fewer eggs, extended life had a fecundity cost. We conclude that Mediterranen M. jurtina butterflies have an extraordinary plasticity in aging which allows them to extend life span in response to adverse environmental conditions and relieve the time limitation on egg-laying while maintaining egg production at equal levels.

An agri-environmental scheme enhances butterfly dispersal in European agricultural landscapes

The loss of connectivity caused by habitat fragmentation is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. This is of particular concern in agricultural landscapes, which combine increased levels of fragmentation with larger numbers of endangered species than other landscapes. Corridors (e.g. linear landscape elements) are a popular conservation strategy to counteract fragmentation effects. Grassy field margins (GFMs) have been established throughout Europe as part of agri-environmental schemes. The primary goal of these measures is to protect water quality, but it is suggested biodiversity may benefit via a corridor function. Being set up along watercourses, GFMs may spontaneously form a coherent network of corridors in agricultural landscapes. We tested this hypothesis by monitoring movement strategies of Meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina L.) in GFMs. Results indicated that butterfly movement was facilitated by this new landscape element, supporting its corridor function. Mechanistically, dispersal occurred through foraging movements rather than movements adapted to dispersal. Spatial configurations of GFMs were also explored in a large agricultural area and demonstrated that the GFM policy is adequate to provide a corridor function.

Dispersal mood revealed by shifts from routine to direct flights in the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina

A comprehensive mechanistic approach to dispersal requires the translation of the whole mobility register of the target organism into movement rules that could subsequently be used to model its displacements. According to the optimality paradigm, this procedure implies a cost–benefit analysis of mobility patterns taking into account not only movements, but also their external context and the internal state of the moving individuals. Using this framework, we detected a ‘dispersal mood’ in some individuals of the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina. These adopted a direct flight strategy, which was topologically different from the previously documented foray search strategy. Those individuals that used the direct flight strategy moved straighter as soon as they left the habitat and avoided heading back to their patch of origin, which is the best inter-patch search strategy when dispersal risks and costs are high. The direct flight strategy was conditional to sex: females used it twice as much as males. We suggest that this sex bias was due to female investment in offspring, which is maximized by male avoidance and spatial bet hedging. Inter-patch dispersal of gravid females is crucial for the persistence of M. jurtina populations in spatially and temporally unpredictable environments.

Grassy field margins as potential corridors for butterflies in agricultural landscapes: A simulation study

Over the last decades, agricultural intensification has caused a dramatic reduction of grassy habitats. This habitat loss has had a strong negative effect on many meadow-living insect populations, including butterflies. As a part of the cross-compliance measures of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, subsidies for creation and maintenance of grassy field margins (GFM) have been launched. Among other environmental issues, they may serve as corridors for movement of various meadow-living species between individual meadows. Their role as corridors has, however, not yet been demonstrated at the landscape scale and their characteristics that most significantly increase landscape connectivity are unknown. Empirical data for such studies are missing, as the GFM subsidies were launched only 3 years ago. One possibility to get some predictions of their outcomes is provided by simulation models. Here we present our simulation results, using an extension of the model developed by Kindlmann et al. (2004) for the Meadow Brown butterfly, Maniola jurtina. The extension includes the probability to cross a boundary (Conradt and Roper, 2006) that negatively influences dispersal rates but increases sensitivity to the corridor effect. Our simulations show that GFMs increase the dispersal rates between habitat patches and we predict the optimal combinations of width and number of GFMs in the landscape. This way we provide a decision-making tool for increasing landscape connectivity for M. jurtina and similar species. Although our simulations are based on a particular species, they may be generalized because this species shows dispersal rates that are typical of butterfly metapopulations (Conradt et al., 2000), and a potentially widespread dispersal kernel (i.e. “foray search”) that has been reported in a wide variety of species (see Conradt et al., 2003 for a review).

Agricultural landscape connectivity for the meadow brown butterfly ( Maniola jurtina)

The relationships between movements of the meadow brown butterfly ( Maniola jurtina) and landscape features were examined at different scales in three hedgerow network landscapes of western France. Of the 4174 and 1474 individuals marked in the three landscapes in 1998 and 1999 respectively, a total of 1057 and 285 were recaptured at least once. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to model the number of butterflies moving between herbaceous patches within the landscape. The model predictors were related to (i) the distance separating the patches, (ii) the characteristics of the landscape between the patches and (iii) the characteristics of the departure and arrival patches, including the number of individuals marked in each patch. Site effects were tested by fitting separate models on each site and scale effects were tested by varying the extent of the windows in which landscape variables were extracted. The fits yielded models with R 2 values ranging from 0.22 to 0.64. Whatever the site, the distance between both patches and the number of individuals marked in the departure patch, exhibited significant and consistent effects on butterfly movements. Mean field size and direction of green network elements (hedges, field margins) were also relevant in some cases.

Genetic differentiation and natural hybridization between the Sardinian endemicManiola nuragand the EuropeanManiola jurtina

The Mediterranean island of Sardinia is known for its multitude of unique genetic lineages. We view one of them in a larger phylogeographic context. The endemic Sardinian Meadow Brown butterfly, Maniola nurag, is restricted to the mountainous areas of the island, whereas its widespread close relative, Maniola jurtina, also occurs on the coast. At intermediate altitudes the species' distributions overlap. There, a number of individuals exhibit phenotypic characteristics intermediate between the two species. We examined patterns of intra- and interpopulation variation in 10 M. nurag populations from Sardinia and 16 M. jurtina populations from Sardinia and continental Europe, as well as 17 intermediate individuals, sampled in 1999-2002, by means of allozyme markers, combining it with a morphometric analysis based on 18 wing-characters of 52 males. At the 15 loci studied (aldolase, aat-1, aat-2, g6pdh, gpd, idh-1, idh-2, mdh-1, mdh-2, mpi, me, leu-ala, pgi, pgm, and 6pgdh), 76 different alleles were detected, 63 of which were shared by M. nurag and M. jurtina. None of the loci was found to be alternatively fixed between the two species. In that respect, this study testifies to the difficulties that may arise when trying to identify hybrids from genotypic data. Levels of genetic variation in island populations (M. jurtina: H(O) = 0.137-0.189; M. nurag: H(O) = 0.141-0.270) were comparable to those of mainland M. jurtina (H(O) = 0.141-0.236). A Bayesian admixture analysis supported the hypothesis of mixed (hybrid) ancestry of individuals occurring at intermediate altitudes. Similarly, neighbour-joining and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA) analyses, as well as morphometrics hinted at the existence of a Maniola-hybrid zone in Sardinia at intermediate altitudes. We discuss the results in the light of the phylogeography of other Sardinian taxa with the aim to reach a general understanding of the biogeographic history of this island's endemic species.

Is the last glaciation the only relevant event for the present genetic population structure of the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)?

Phylogeographical studies are available for a considerable number of European species, but few analyses exist for temperate species with very large and fairly continuous populations that are also absent from Northern Europe. Therefore, we studied the butterfly Maniola jurtina as a model for this group. The species has two major genetic lineages (mean genetic distance between lineages: 0.033; FCT: 0.052), most probably evolving in glacial differentiation centres in the western and eastern Mediterranean. The onset of this differentiation might have been the beginning of the last glacial stage maximum some 40 kyr bp. A hybrid zone between these two lineages exists in western Central Europe. No genetic substructures have been found within the two lineages (FSC: 0.017) and average genetic distances are very small. Therefore, it is highly probable that postglacial expansion was of the phalanx type. There is, at most, very limited differentiation at regional and local scales. However, the genetic diversity within populations is high (means: A: 2.68; HE: 17.2%; P: 78%), as would be predicted for such a common species. Comparison of these results with a published allozyme analysis revealed a similar phylogeographical pattern, but lower genetic diversity in the latter. Morphological patterns of wings and genitalia show similar geographical patterns as allozyme data. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, 85, 419–431.

The influence of spatial scale on quantifying insect dispersal: an analysis of butterfly data

Abstract.1. A linear relationship between mean movement distances recorded and the size of the study area was found in a comparison of five mark–release–recapture studies of the meadow brown butterfly.2. The scale impact on mean butterfly movement distances was also apparent when comparing the results for different butterfly species reported in 21 mark–release–recapture studies.

Non-random dispersal in the butterfly Maniola jurtina: implications for metapopulation models.

The dispersal patterns of animals are important in metapopulation ecology because they affect the dynamics and survival of populations. Theoretical models assume random dispersal but little is known in practice about the dispersal behaviour of individual animals or the strategy by which dispersers locate distant habitat patches. In the present study, we released individual meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) in a non-habitat and investigated their ability to return to a suitable habitat. The results provided three reasons for supposing that meadow brown butterflies do not seek habitat by means of random flight. First, when released within the range of their normal dispersal distances, the butterflies orientated towards suitable habitat at a higher rate than expected at random. Second, when released at larger distances from their habitat, they used a non-random, systematic, search strategy in which they flew in loops around the release point and returned periodically to it. Third, butterflies returned to a familiar habitat patch rather than a non-familiar one when given a choice. If dispersers actively orientate towards or search systematically for distant habitat, this may be problematic for existing metapopulation models, including models of the evolution of dispersal rates in metapopulations.

Spot variation in Maniola jurtina (L.) (Lepidoptera: Satyridae) in southern Portugal and a comparison with the Canary Islands

A sample of 2013 meadow brown butterflies, Maniola jurtina, was obtained in the Algarve, southern Portugal, on behalf of E.B. Ford, the founder of ecological genetics. Variation in the meadow brown occupied Ford's attention for more than 40 years. Ford died in 1988; most of his collection had earlier been destroyed, but the meadow browns remained and became available for analysis. The butterflies were scored for spotting characters on both fore- and hindwings. The population is homogeneous over the entire area of the Algarve and there is no conclusive evidence of a difference between the two years of collection (1986 and 1987). It is probably also homogeneous with southern Iberia in general, an area unique in the western Palaearctic range of the species as it is characterized by a high spot average in males and a low spot average in females. Algarve butterflies differ markedly from those of the Canary Islands, where there is considerable inter-island heterogeneity, supporting the view that the Canary Island populations did not originate from southern Iberia. In the Algarve, many females aestivate and by September there is an essentially all-female population. These are low-spotted anti differ significantly from females active in May and June at the start of the annual (one generation) flight season.