Temperature-Dependent Development of the Swallowtail Butterfly, Sericinus montela Gray

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of ambient thermal environments on thedevelopment of swallowtail butterflies (Sericinus montela Gray). Developmental durations andsurvival rates of S. montela were examined at two crucial developmental stages, embryonicand larval development, at varying temperatures ranging from 15°C to 35°C. As expected,our results indicated that increasing temperatures decreased the developmental duration andsurvival rate of the eggs. However, the larvae and pupae showed maximum survival rates at20.0°C and 25.0°C, and the represented durations were similar to those of the eggs. Larvaldevelopment was stage-specific, revealing that the fourth and fifth instars at the later stageswere more susceptible to temperature variation. When considering both parameters, theoptimal development of S. montela occurred within the temperature range of 20.0–25.0°C. The lower threshold for the complete development of S. montela from eggs to eclosion ofadults was calculated at 10.6°C by linear regression analysis. The estimated value is similarto that of other endemic insects distributed in temperate climate zones, which indicates that S. montela belongs to a small group of swallowtails adjusted to low ambient temperatures. Fromthe results, we predict that the full development of S. montela could be achieved within thetemperature range of 17.5–30.0°C. Embryonic development ceased at both test temperatureextremes, and no further larval development proceeded after the third instar at 35.0°C. Theseresults suggest that embryogenesis can be significantly influenced by slight variations in theambient thermal environment that fall below the optimal range. KCI Citation Count: 0