A Researcher Discovered a Species of Moth That Lays Its

question 37

Multiple Choice

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs.
How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs then put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Temperature } & \text { Day length } \\\hline \text { Springlike } & \text { Springlike } \\\hline \text { Springlike } & \text { Summerlike } \\\hline \text { Sumnerlike } & \text { Springlik } \\\hline \text { Summerlike } & \text { Summerlike } \\\hline\end{array}$$
In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there was a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets) .
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In every case, caterpillars that feed on oak flowers look like oak flowers. In every case, caterpillars that were raised on oak leaves looked like twigs. These results support which of the following hypotheses?

• A) The longer day length of summer trigger the development of twig-like caterpillars.
• B) Differences in air pressure, due to elevation, trigger the development of different types of caterpillars.
• C) Differences in diet trigger the development of different types of caterpillars.
• D) The differences are genetic. A female will either produce all flower-like caterpillars or all twig-like caterpillars.

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