Photoperiodic response of two newly established populations of the great mormon butterfly, Papilio memnon L. (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae), in Shizuoka and Kanagawa Prefectures, central Japan

Abstract

The photoperiodic response was investigated in two newly established populations of Papilio memnon in Shizuoka and Kanagawa Prefectures, central Japan. Critical photoperiods for inducing pupal diapause were about 13hr and 13hr 15min in the Shizuoka (35°02'N) and Kanagawa (35°16'N) populations, respectively, and these were not different from those of temperate populations in western Japan. Results show that the distribution of this species has been expanding from western into central Japan without any remarkable changes in such a physiological trait as the critical photoperiod for inducing pupal diapause.