Heterospecific Mating Behavior of <i>Papilio palamedes</i> in Florida (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae).
Authors
M. D. Deering
J. M. Scriber
Keywords:
behavior, ecology, interspecific copulation, mating preference, Nearctic, reproductive isolation, USA
Abstract
Male Papilio palamedes frequently approach tiger swallowtail females of P. glaucus and P. canadensis in field experiments with tethered females. We observed one male actually copulate and (we later learned) transmit a spermatophore to a P. canadensis female under these field conditions at Highlands Hammock State Park. This observation is rare for interspecific mating behavior, but does emphasize the lack of total prezygotic reproductive isolation in the Papilionidae.
