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Contrasting Population Biology of Two Species of Butterfly

Abstract

Euphydryas editha Boisduval is known from population studies to be a highly colonial, univoltine butterfly occurring primarily in the San Francisco Bay area, where it feeds on Plantago erecta Morris and Orthocarpus densiflorus Bentham which grow on serpentine soil (unpublished work of M. C. Sinjé and P. R. E.). Neighbouring populations of butterflies exchange few genes, and fluctuate in size independently of each other1, even though they are not separated by barriers to the flight of individuals2.

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BRUSSARD, P., EHRLICH, P. Contrasting Population Biology of Two Species of Butterfly. Nature 227, 91–92 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227091a0

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