Abstract
DURING mating a male butterfly leaves a spermatophore in the bursa copulatrix of the female. One spermatophore results from each mating and so the number of times a female has mated can be determined by dissection of the bursa. Spermatophores can almost always be recognized even when old and collapsed and they persist throughout the life of the female1 and in old and dried out museum specimens. In most butterflies the sex ratio is 1 to 1, wild-caught females are hardly ever virgins, most have mated at least once, and some have mated up to ten times.
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References
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Owen, D. F., and Chanter, D. O., J. Zool., 157, 345 (1969).
Owen, D. F., Nature, 225, 662 (1970).
Chanter, D. O., and Owen, D. F., J. Zool., 166, 363 (1972).
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OWEN, D., OWEN, J. & CHANTER, D. Low Mating Frequencies in an African Butterfly. Nature 244, 116–117 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244116b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/244116b0
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