Reproduction
As a proxy for oviposition behaviour we counted the number of eggs laid in each treatment group. The females in the treatment group with access to M. sylvestris had started laying eggs in large numbers at day five after eclosure. In total, we counted > 850 and > 500 eggs in the two replicate cages with host plants after harvesting all females. In the two cages without host plants, we found no (0) or a smaller number of eggs (90) in each replicate, respectively. To investigate if host plant abundance had an effect on enhancer and promoter activity of specific genes, we proceeded with analysis of the ChIP-Seq data from the two treatment groups.