Abstract
Life history theory is a fundamental tool for the analysis of patterns and processes in population ecology and evolutionary biology. It is also highly relevant for more applied fields of ecology such as pest management, conservation and management of harvested populations because it provides a clear basis for interpretations, generalizations and predictions. Body size is a central life history trait that connects developmental rates and reproductive success. Life history models typically assume that reproductive success increases indefinitely with adult size and that this fitness benefit is balanced by mortality costs during juvenile development. However, growth in holometabolous insects is often exponential which suggests that reproductive success may increase enormously with very limited extensions of the juvenile period. This discrepancy has been largely neglected in insect life history theory. I aim to address this inconsistency between theory and empirical patterns by focusing on the potential costs of a large body size in a group of butterflies (Pararginii), that contain one species that is threatened in Sweden and Western Europe. In particular I will focus on the relationships between female size and fecundity, and the possible importance of size-dependent predation risk during the larval stage. With a combination of methods I hope to provide a well worked out case study for body size evolution in insects that would improve the predictive power of life history theory.
Sweden