Abstract
The effect of wing length (brachyptery and macroptery) on mating activity was investigated in adult males and females of a flightless wing-polymorphic insect, Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.). Mating activity of the brachypterous and macropterous adult bugs was assessed according to 14 different parameters. The competition tests revealed higher numbers of copulations and greater dura- tion of mating activity in brachypterous than in macropterous males. Brachypterous males are between two to four times more suc- cessful in competition for females than their macropterous counterparts, depending on the wing morph and physiological status of the females. Decreased mating success of macropterous males is associated with the smaller size of their accessory glands. Lowered competitive ability for mates is a likely penalty associated with macroptery. Receptivity tests showed the highest tendency to mate in reproductive brachypterous females, lower in macropterous females and the least in diapausing brachypterous females. This is the first report of decreased mating propensity of macropterous morphs in insects with non-functional wing polymorphism. The associa- tion of lowered mating success with the higher dispersal activity of the macropterous morph in this bug and a trade-off between the ability to reproduce and to disperse in the flightless wing-polymorphic insects is discussed.
Highlights
Alary polymorphism in insects is widely viewed as a visible manifestation of polymorphism for dispersal ability and has been intensively studied by behavioural ecologists, evolutionary biologists and physiologists for decades (Johnson, 1969; Kennedy, 1975; Harrison, 1980; Roff & Fairbairn, 1991; Rankin & Burchsted, 1992; Dingle, 1996; Zera & Denno, 1997)
M males showed still greater preference (P d 0.001) for B-R females (71.9%) over M females (9.4%) (Fig. 2D). These results demonstrate a reduced tendency to mate in M than B-R females and a lowered mating vigour of M males when compared with B-R males
In contrast to B-R males, which mated with M and diapausing brachypterous (B-D) females in a ratio 59.4 : 12.5%, the M males mated with these females in a ratio
Summary
Alary polymorphism in insects is widely viewed as a visible manifestation of polymorphism for dispersal ability and has been intensively studied by behavioural ecologists, evolutionary biologists and physiologists for decades (Johnson, 1969; Kennedy, 1975; Harrison, 1980; Roff & Fairbairn, 1991; Rankin & Burchsted, 1992; Dingle, 1996; Zera & Denno, 1997). Insect wing polymorphism is one of the life history trade-off models because wing morph-related differences in dispersal and reproductive traits are often great. The trade-off between reproduction and dispersal has been only documented for flight-capable wing-polymorphic insects (Dingle, 1996; Zera & Denno, 1997). Whether the trade-off between reproduction and dispersal occur in flightless wingpolymorphic insects is unknown. While the relationship between dispersal ability and reproduction in females of many flying wing-polymorphic species has been well documented, that in males is less well understood (Zera & Denno, 1997). Despite the fact that some species have evolved flightlessness and their macropters are non-flying (Roff & Fairbairn, 1991)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
