Asking the pikas politely…
The native butterfly Pieris macdunnoughii lays eggs on a non-native, invasive mustard, Thlaspi arvense. The larvae won't eat the plant. This reflects maladaptation on the part of the butterfly to the plant. This maladaptation has persisted for over 150 generations in the Gothic area, in the face of strong selection pressures. We will explore the role of drought in altering plant chemistry, hence larval ability to eat the plant, as a mechanisms that may have allowed the apparent maladaptation to persist in the population.
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