Tracking butterfly movements with harmonic radar reveals an effect of population age on movement distance

We used harmonic radar to track freely flying Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) females within an area of 30 ha. Butterflies originated from large and continuous populations in China and Estonia, and from newly established or old (> 5 years) small local populations in a highly fragmented landscape in Finland. Caterpillars were raised under common garden conditions and unmated females were tested soon after eclosion. The reconstructed flight paths for 66 individuals comprised a total distance of 51 km with high spatial resolution. Butterflies originating from large continuous populations and from old local populations in Finland exhibited similar movement behaviors, whereas butterflies originating from newly established local populations in the fragmented landscape in Finland moved significantly more than the others. There was no difference in the lengths of individual flight bouts, but the new-population females flew more frequently, resulting in longer daily movement tracks. The flight activity of all individuals was affected by environmental conditions, peaking at 19-23°C (depending on population type), in the early afternoon, and during calm weather. Butterflies from all population types showed a strong tendency to follow habitat edges between the open study area and the neighboring woodlands.