1979] 
Silberglied, Aiello & Lamas — Genus Anartia 
241 
The Life Cycle 
Oviposition and Larval Foodplants 
Females in search of oviposition sites fly within a few centimeters 
of low vegetation, and land frequently and briefly upon a variety of 
plants. Eggs are laid singly, usually, but not always, on the larval 
foodplant (Table 1). A. chrysopelea has been seen ovipositing on 
Tradescantia sp. (Dethier, 1941), A. jatrophae on Cyperus diffusa, 
Oldenlandia corymbosa and Polygala verticillata, and A. fatima on 
“dead twigs, moss, rocks, walls, dry leaves, logs” (Young and Stein, 
1976), “grasses, especially Oplysminus spp.” (Young, 1972), Croton 
hirtus, Chaptalia nutans, garden hoses and cement walkways — 
none of which are acceptable larval foods. In the laboratory, A. 
fatima deposited more eggs on cage walls than on the Blechum 
brownei leaves provided. Apparently the only requirement for an 
oviposition site is that it be near the correct foodplant, but the 
stimuli important in eliciting oviposition behavior remain unknown 
(cf. Young and Stein, 1976). We have never seen any species of 
Anartia oviposit in an area that did not contain a real larval 
foodplant. 
Anartia species have unusually high fecundity. A single female 
may lay several hundred eggs over the course of a few days (Young, 
1972; Silberglied and Aiello, in prep.). Ehrlich and Ehrlich (1978) 
report that female A. amathea have approximately 100 eggs per 
ovariole, or a potential 800 eggs per female. Considering the sort of 
mortality for which such fecundity must compensate, the larva that 
survives to adulthood must be rare indeed. 
The larval foodplants of Anartia are listed in Table 1. While A. 
fatima and A. amathea accept Blechum brownei and B. costaricense 
as foodplants in Panama, in their natural habitat they would be less 
likely to encounter B. costaricense, a forest species. Neither A. ama¬ 
thea nor A. fatima will feed on Nelsonia brunellodes, another 
member of the same family, that often grows with B. brownei in 
Panama. 
A. jatrophae has been reared upon numerous and diverse food- 
plants (see Table 1). Assuming that this pattern is real and not an 
artifact of limited data, we find it interesting that A. jatrophae, the 
most widespread of the three species, also has the broadest range of 
foodplants. This flexibility may enable it to coexist side by side with 
its congeners, with less direct competition for food. Furthermore, A. 
