DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5v42p
title: Data from: Maternal effects and warning signal honesty in eggs and offspring of an aposematic ladybird beetle

description: 1. The eggs of oviparous species are often subject to intense predation
 pressure. One parental strategy to deter predators is to produce eggs that
 are laced with noxious chemicals and are conspicuously coloured (i.e.
 aposematism). 2. Ladybird eggs are conspicuously coloured and contain
 alkaloids; these traits are believed to function in concert as visual
 signal and chemical defence, respectively, to deter predators. However, it
 remains unclear whether such aposematic signals reveal the strength
 (rather than simply the existence) of chemical defences. 3. Furthermore,
 additional functions of egg pigments and toxins could apply; in particular
 mothers might deposit such resources into eggs to aid the development of
 offspring, or to provide resources that could contribute to aposematic
 traits in offspring. 4. We bred wild-caught seven-spot ladybird beetles
 (Coccinella septempunctata) in the laboratory, and then measured
 relationships between egg colouration and toxin concentrations (i.e. the
 alkaloids precoccinelline and coccinelline). We also measured
 relationships between egg carotenoids and egg colouration, and between egg
 colouration and toxin levels, and the elytra colouration and toxin
 concentrations of offspring at eclosion for a subset of eggs that were
 allowed to develop. 5. Egg carotenoids predicted egg colour saturation. In
 turn egg colour saturation and hue positively predicted egg concentrations
 of precoccinelline. However, there were no significant relationships
 between egg coccinelline concentration and any measure of egg colouration.
 6. In recently eclosed adults of both sexes elytra saturation was
 significantly explained by variation in egg saturation and hue. Finally,
 body concentrations of coccinelline were significantly explained by
 variation in elytra hue. 7. These results suggest that the colouration of
 C. septempunctata eggs is a reliable signal of the strength of chemical
 defences contained therein, but in addition, maternal investment of
 pigments and toxins into eggs may serve to influence the reliability of
 aposematic signalling in resultant offspring.
description: Egg
 phenotypesThese data were
 collected from a laboratory experiment. Abbreviations used for column
 headings are described below. MotherID - a distinct code for the female
 that laid the clutch described; Mothersize - pronotum width; labtime - the
 number of days the particular female spent in the lab before her clutch
 was collected; FatherID - a distinct code for the male mated to the female
 that laid the clutch described; Eggsaturation - (r) calculated as the
 shortest (Euclidian) distance from the achromatic origin, where saturation
 increases the further a point is from the origin; Eggbrightness - overall
 reflectance across the spectrum, and calculated independently of colour by
 applying the formula: (LW+MW+SW+UV)/4; Egghue1 - (LW+MW) / (SW+UV);
 Egghue2 - (LW+UV) / (SW+MW); Eggcoc - concentration of coccinelline in the
 eggs; Eggprecoc - concentration of precoccinelline in the eggs;
 Eggcarotenoids - concentration of carotetenoids in the
 eggsegg.txtOffspring phenotypesThese data were collected from a laboratory experiment. Abbreviations used for column headings are described below. OffspringID - a distinct code for the individual offspring with the phenotype described; MotherID - a distinct code for the mother of the offspring described; FatherID - a distinct code for the male mated to the mother of the offspring described; Eggsaturation - (r) calculated as the shortest (Euclidian) distance from the achromatic origin, where saturation increases the further a point is from the origin; Eggbrightness - overall reflectance across the spectrum, and calculated independently of colour by applying the formula: (LW+MW+SW+UV)/4; Egghue1 - (LW+MW) / (SW+UV); Egghue2 - (LW+UV) / (SW+MW); Eggcoc - concentration of coccinelline in the eggs; Eggprecoc - concentration of precoccinelline in the eggs; Eggcarotenoids - concentration of carotetenoids in the eggs; hatchsuccess - hatched larvae / total eggs; Sex - male or female; Offspringgrowthrate - calculated as the regression coefficient of an exponential curve fitted to the x(age in days at the start of each instar stage) and y(body mass) for each larva; Offspringmass - weighed to the nearest 0.1µg upon eclosion; Offspringdevtime - total number of days between hatching and eclosion as adults; Offspringsat - (r) calculated as the shortest (Euclidian) distance from the achromatic origin, where saturation increases the further a point is from the origin; OffspringBrightness - overall reflectance across the spectrum, and calculated independently of colour by applying the formula: (LW+MW+SW+UV)/4; Offspringhue1 - (LW+MW) / (SW+UV); Offspringhue2 - (LW+UV) / (SW+MW); Offspringcoc - concentration of coccinelline in the individual; Offspringprecoc - concentration of precoccinelline in the individualoffspring.txtSurvivalThese data were collected from a laboratory experiment. Abbreviations used for column headings are described below. LarvaeID - a distinct code for the individual described; MotherID - a distinct code for the female that laid the clutch described; FatherID - a distinct code for the male mated to the female that laid the clutch described; Eggcarotenoids - concentration of carotetenoids in the eggs; Survival - whether the individual survived to adulthood.survival.txt