Genetic and maternal influences on body size and development time in the seed beetle Stator limbatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

I investigated the relative contributions of genetic and maternal effects to variation in body size and egg-to-development time in 4 populations of the seed beetle Stator limbatus (Horn), using parent-offspring relationships and a half-sib experiment. Most estimates of the heritability of body size were significantly greater than zero (range was 0.21-0.72, depending on progeny sex and the population). However, there was little evidence of genetic variation in development time in any population. Instead, development time was influenced largely by maternal effects, consistent with the interpretation of previous experiments that larvae adjust the length of their development period to compensate for variation among their mothers. Estimates of genetic and phenotypic covariances between body size and development time were all negative, suggesting that genetic variation in general vigor is present within populations.