Control of Fecundity in Pieris rapae: III. Synthesis

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Abstract
Natural selection for increased pupal weight and fecundity occurs in a wide range of field conditions. But the genetic variation is expressed less strongly than in the laboratory. There is a limit, beyond which no further response to selection for increased fecundity occurs. Genotypes close to the limit experience sharply reduced fecundity, irrespective of phenotypic size. So 2 butterflies of the same weight lay very different numbers of eggs, according to their genotypes. These mechanisms stabilize average size and fecundity at levels which are roughly optimal for the population in field conditions. The data contradict the current dogma that individual competitive advantages take precedence over the welfare of the population as a whole. The amount of genetic variation in pupal weight is limited by the ecological effects of high and low field temperatures on larval survival.

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