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.