Overview Copulation Strategies of European Butterflies

Daily butterflies are a very varied and diverse group of the animal kingdom. They are insects with complete metamorphosis and a complex life cycle. Different stages of the development cycle are well known and studied. However, when it comes to the reproduction biology of daily butterflies, there are still a lot of question marks. This is why we decided to compile available information on reproduction strategies of European daily butterflies. This information was gathered by the means of strategically chosen keywords in scientific databases Web of Science (WOS), Scopus and Google Scholar. Based on these sources I compiled general information on reproduction behaviour of butterflies related to the complex processes before copulation, more concretely the mating and selection behaviour of daily butterflies. Consequently I describe concretely the copulation process, where I concentrate mainly on data on the progression of copulation, i.e. duration, minimum age or possible repeated copulation. I also explain general terms connected to copulation, such as paternity or protandry. The following part of the thesis concentrates specifically on copulation strategies of European daily butterflies. For the majority of butterflies I gathered data on mating strategies before copulation, specifically on how males search for females. Furthermore, for som e butterflies I add comprehensive data on duration of copulation, minimum age for copulation or possible repeated copulation. However, the gathered data do not provide sufficient information on the stated topic. It was therefore impossible to realize a statistical evaluation, which was supposed to lead to a recount against the total number of European butterflies. The hypothesis, namely that the vast majority of daily butterflies does not show promiscuous behaviour and copulates only once, has not been affirmed, neither disproven. Scientific publications only scarcely provided concrete information on promiscuous behaviour of daily butterflies. A research on this behaviour would require a more thorough examination. But it would enable us to organize accessible data on butterflies in the Czech Republic