Observation of overnight mating patterns in Vanessa indica (Herbst), Nymphalidae

Abstract

The international literature on courtship behavior and mating records in butterflies contains no reports of the genus Vanessa. In Japan, however, Vanessa indica has been observed to mate in the afternoon, especially in the evening, in Honshu and Okinawa. The present study reports four instances of evening mating in first-generation adults of V. indica in an outdoor cage in Kyushu, with the insects remaining in copula throughout the night and separating the following morning. These results suggest that mating behavior in V. indica, regardless of region or generation, follows a unique pattern among Nymphalinae, in which mating occurs at twilight, with separation the following morning.