Julia butterfly copulation is always terminated by the males after the ground phase.
The female remains at the mating site as the male flies away.
This raises the idea of an evolutionary basis for this behavior based on a conflict of interests between males and females of the species.
This conflict arises because of a difference in reproductive interests between the male and the female that has its beginnings in anisogamy.
Sexual selection studies favor forms of sexual conflict such as this one to be one of the major sources of speciation in certain insects.

The methods of mate selection (by which a female accepts or denies a male suitor) are not completely understood.
Some studies have reported the sexual dimorphism (of color and body size)  of the butterfly as a key factor that may suggest an evolutionary basis towards understanding sexual selection.
D. iulia male butterflies have been seen to chase females of butterfly species with similar visual cues, which has led researchers to believe that these visual recognition strategies form the basis of sexual partner selection in this species.
However, more research is needed to identify how different aspects of D. iulia’s physical features factor into mate selection.
Julia butterfly copulation is always terminated by the males after the ground phase. The female remains at the mating site as the male flies away. This raises the idea of an evolutionary basis for this behavior based on a conflict of interests between males and females of the species. This conflict arises because of a difference in reproductive interests between the male and the female that has its beginnings in anisogamy. Sexual selection studies favor forms of sexual conflict such as this one to be one of the major sources of speciation in certain insects.
The methods of mate selection (by which a female accepts or denies a male suitor) are not completely understood. Some studies have reported the sexual dimorphism (of color and body size)  of the butterfly as a key factor that may suggest an evolutionary basis towards understanding sexual selection. D. iulia male butterflies have been seen to chase females of butterfly species with similar visual cues, which has led researchers to believe that these visual recognition strategies form the basis of sexual partner selection in this species. However, more research is needed to identify how different aspects of D. iulia’s physical features factor into mate selection.
Dryas iulia