New Protocol For Measuring Lepidoptera Wing Damage

Lepidoptera may acquire damage to their wings throughout their lifespan. The ability to quantify the accumulated damage is relevant when studying the impact of wing damage on territorial behavior, mating systems, predation, or assessing relative age of the insect, but unfortunately, methods for accurate insect wing damage quantification are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new protocol that provides a simple method for accurately quantifying wing damage of live Lepidoptera, without the removal of them from the field. Using a combination of Adobe Photoshop® and Scion Image®, 3 photographs of wild Papilio (Pterourus) homerus butterflies with wing damage were analyzed and compared to an older method of visually estimating wing damage. Of the 12 individual wings analyzed, 7 were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05), and the new protocol yielded precise results. The newly described protocol is an inexpensive and accurate method for determining percent wing damage on insects without having to harm or remove them from the wild.