Abstract
New aspects of the life-cycle of the flightless wing-polymorphic bug Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) are described. It was found that 1.1-14.9% of the adult females of P. apterus in 11 samples collected from 4 populations in the South Bohemia had mated prior to entering diapause and their ovaries were in the pre-vitellogenic stage of development with viable sperm in their spermathecae. Some of these females successfully overwintered. The percentage of overwintering females that had been fertilized ranged from 1.1 to 7.2 % and depended on the month and year of collection. The results indicate that pre-diapause mating and overwintering of fertilized females is not unusual in populations of P. apterus in the Czech Republic and and that sperm in overwintering female survives for at least 7-8 months.
Highlights
The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.), has been studied as a convenient experimental tool for biological research
The percentage of adult females that were fertilized in samples of P. apterus, collected from populations in different places during the months August–November of the years 2000–2005, was determined
The results indicate that a small percentage of P. apterus females of the 1st generation in the field in temperate regions mate prior to entering diapause and can successfully overwinter with their ovaries at the previtellogenic stage of development and viable sperm in their spermathecae
Summary
The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.), has been studied as a convenient experimental tool for biological research (for review see Socha, 1993) It is a common palaearctic species in the Mediterranean area and eastern and central Asia. The bug shows a conspicuous wing polymorphism, producing short-winged (brachypterous) and long-winged (macropterous) morphs (HonČk, 1974; Socha, 1993). Both the macropterous and brachypterous adults of P. apterus are flightless (Socha & Zemek, 2000a), disperse by walking (Socha & Zemek 2000b), with the macropterous adults showing a higher dispersal (Socha & Zemek, 2003) and lower mating activity than brachypterous adults (Socha 2004, 2006). The percentage of macropters varies in natural populations, both between localities and at one locality during a season and may exceed 60% at some warmer places during hot summers (HonČk, 1986b)
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