In many migratory insects, migration occurs during the prereproductive phase of the life cycle. This trait probably arises from a trade-off between migration and reproduction and in females has been termed the ‘oogenesis–flight syndrome’. However, the generality of this syndrome has been questioned, especially for monomorphic insects. We studied the relationship between migration and reproduction in the highly cosmopolitan painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui, which in the Palaearctic undertakes the longest known multigenerational migration circuit of any insect. We tested for the oogenesis–flight syndrome in both spring and autumn migrants in two regions linked by migration, North Africa and northern Spain. Field observations were combined with laboratory experiments to determine the life span and the age at first mating to unravel the reproductive strategy observed in wild-caught individuals. Females and males wait on average around 5–6 days before mating, and field data revealed that mating frequencies increased rapidly once females reached a medium wing wear category. There were seasonal differences in mating frequencies in the study regions depending on whether the region acted as a source or as a destination for migrants, and in the latter case there were almost twice as many mated females. Moreover, a great majority of females collected during migratory flights were unmated, the remaining females having mated only very recently. Our results thus strongly indicate that the painted lady fulfils the oogenesis–flight syndrome, as migration is concentrated in its relatively short prereproductive period. Field data also showed a high positive correlation between mating frequency and host plant abundance, which suggests that mated females are able to locate potential breeding areas. This, together with the high fecundity estimated in laboratory trials, makes the painted lady a highly successful migratory insect.

在许多迁徙昆虫中，迁移发生在生命周期的生殖前阶段。这种特征可能是由于迁移和繁殖之间的权衡而产生的，在女性中，这种现象被称为“卵子-飞行综合征”。但是，这种综合症的普遍性受到了质疑，特别是对于单态昆虫。我们研究了高度国际化的彩绘淑女蝴蝶Vanessa cardui的迁徙与生殖之间的关系。，在古生物学中，它是所有昆虫中已知最长的多代迁徙路线。我们在与迁徙相关的两个地区，即北非和西班牙北部，对春季和秋季移民中的卵子发育-飞行综合征进行了测试。将野外观察与实验室实验相结合，以确定首次交配的寿命和年龄，以阐明在野外捕获的个体中观察到的生殖策略。雌性和雄性平均在交配之前等待约5-6天，而现场数据显示，一旦雌性达到中等机翼磨损类别，交配频率就会迅速增加。在研究区域中，交配频率存在季节性差异，具体取决于该区域是移民的来源还是目的地，在后一种情况下，交配雌性的数量几乎是其两倍。此外，在迁徙飞行中收集的大多数雌性都没有交配，其余雌性只是在最近才交配。因此，我们的结果有力地表明，彩绘的女士符合卵子发育-飞行综合征，因为迁移集中在其相对较短的生殖前期。田间数据还表明，交配频率与寄主植物丰度之间存在高度正相关，这表明交配的雌性能够找到潜在的繁殖区域。加上实验室试验中估计的高繁殖力，这位彩绘女士成为了非常成功的迁徙昆虫。因为迁移集中在其相对较短的繁殖前期。田间数据还表明，交配频率与寄主植物丰度之间存在高度正相关，这表明交配的雌性能够找到潜在的繁殖区域。加上实验室试验中估计的高繁殖力，这位彩绘女士成为了非常成功的迁徙昆虫。因为迁移集中在其相对较短的繁殖前期。田间数据还表明，交配频率与寄主植物丰度之间存在高度正相关，这表明交配的雌性能够找到潜在的繁殖区域。加上实验室试验中估计的高繁殖力，这位彩绘女士成为了非常成功的迁徙昆虫。