Comportement sexuel et stratégie reproductrice chez le Chryseida bennetti Burks (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), parasitoïde de la bruche du haricot. I. Effet de l'âge des partenaires

Abstract

This paper relates a female age effect to the mating behavior of Chryseida bennetti Burks, an ectoparasitoid of the bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say)). The sexual behavior includes rapid courtship and copulation followed by a postmating courtship behavior ("guarding"). Male guarding behavior varies according to the females' age, with males guarding females of 2–3 days old longer than younger and older females. A period of sexual maturation is necessary for most of the males. Females' attractiveness begins at the pupal stage, and their receptivity on emergence. Mated females are still attractive to males. Multiple matings (up to four copulations) with the same male have been observed. The females' age seems to control copulation frequency and the duration of the postmating courtship behavior. Two- and three-day-old females had more successive multiple matings with the same male than the other females did, and males spent much more time guarding them. The age of the males (except from newly emerged males) did not seem to influence copulation frequency. On the other hand, the complexity of the sequential courtship behavior increased with the age of the partners. The function of males' postmating courtship is discussed.