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<p>Geographic variation in the thermal sensitivity of life history traits has been widely documented in ectotherms, but the specific climatic factors that generate this variation are usually unknown. Invasive species that have recently expanded their geographic range provide useful systems for exploring plasticity and rapid evolution of life history and thermal biology along climatic gradients, but most studies consider a single life stage or a limited range of temperatures. We used North American populations of the invasive cabbage white butterfly (<i>Pieris rapae</i>) to explore these issues. We considered three geographic populations that differ in multiple aspects of seasonal climate, and measured thermal reaction norms of development rate, survival, and mass for both larval and pupal stages across a wide range of mean temperatures (16–34&#xa0;°C). The optimal temperature (~ 30&#xa0;°C) for both larval and pupal development rates was similar for all three populations; and survival, development rates and pupal mass all declined at the highest mean temperature (34&#xa0;°C). Low or high mean temperatures during larval development significantly reduced survival from pupation to adult eclosion. There were significant interactions between temperature and population for pupal and adult masses, reflecting the differing thermal reaction norms for size among these populations. However, these population differences do not suggest adaptation to local climatic conditions. We used these data to estimate thermal reaction norms for larval development rate, and developed a simple rate-summation model to predict development time to pupation in fluctuating thermal conditions. Lab experiments using ‘spring’ and ‘summer’ thermal conditions successfully predicted mean development time from hatching to pupation in both spring and summer conditions within 10%. The success of this simple model for predicting development times in realistic, fluctuating thermal conditions provides a basic framework for modeling insect responses to weather and climate variation in the field.</p>

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Population divergence in thermal reaction norms for an invasive butterfly, Pieris rapae

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月8日

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  • Madison Milotte,
  • Tyler Pereira,
  • Anna Parker,
  • Joel Kingsolver

摘要

Geographic variation in the thermal sensitivity of life history traits has been widely documented in ectotherms, but the specific climatic factors that generate this variation are usually unknown. Invasive species that have recently expanded their geographic range provide useful systems for exploring plasticity and rapid evolution of life history and thermal biology along climatic gradients, but most studies consider a single life stage or a limited range of temperatures. We used North American populations of the invasive cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) to explore these issues. We considered three geographic populations that differ in multiple aspects of seasonal climate, and measured thermal reaction norms of development rate, survival, and mass for both larval and pupal stages across a wide range of mean temperatures (16–34 °C). The optimal temperature (~ 30 °C) for both larval and pupal development rates was similar for all three populations; and survival, development rates and pupal mass all declined at the highest mean temperature (34 °C). Low or high mean temperatures during larval development significantly reduced survival from pupation to adult eclosion. There were significant interactions between temperature and population for pupal and adult masses, reflecting the differing thermal reaction norms for size among these populations. However, these population differences do not suggest adaptation to local climatic conditions. We used these data to estimate thermal reaction norms for larval development rate, and developed a simple rate-summation model to predict development time to pupation in fluctuating thermal conditions. Lab experiments using ‘spring’ and ‘summer’ thermal conditions successfully predicted mean development time from hatching to pupation in both spring and summer conditions within 10%. The success of this simple model for predicting development times in realistic, fluctuating thermal conditions provides a basic framework for modeling insect responses to weather and climate variation in the field.