What keeps insects small? Time limitation during oviposition reduces the fecundity benefit of female size in a butterfly
Laboratory studies of insects suggest that female fecundity may increase very rapidly with adult size and that mass may often increase close to exponentially with time during larval growth. These relationships make it difficult to see how realistic levels of larval mortality can outweigh the fecundity benefit of prolonged growth. Hence, it is unclear why many insects do not become bigger. In this
