Abstract
Conspicuous warning colors that signal chemical or other defenses are common in the natural world. For instance, such aposematic warning patterns of red‐and‐black or yellow‐and‐black are common among insect taxa, particularly in the order Hemiptera, often forming the basis of Batesian and/or Müllerian mimicry rings. In addition, it has been repeatedly noted that color polymorphisms or mutants that influence pigmentation can show pleiotropy with other behavioral, physiological, or life‐history traits. Here, we describe a pale mutant of the seed bug Lygaeus simulans that appeared in our laboratory population in 2012, which differs in color to the wild‐type bugs. Through multigenerational experimental crosses between wild‐type and pale mutant L. simulans, we first show that the pale phenotype segregates as a single Mendelian locus, with the pale allele being recessive to the wild type. Next, we show (a) that there is a large heterozygous advantage in terms of fecundity, (b) that pale females suffer reduced longevity, and (c) that pale males have increased body length compared to wild‐type homozygotes. Our data therefore suggest that the color locus is pleiotropic with a number of life‐history traits, opening the door for a more complete genetic analysis of aposematic coloration in this species. In addition, this phenotype will be useful as a visible genetic marker, providing a tool for investigating sperm competition and other post‐copulatory drivers of sexual selection in this species.
Highlights
Conspicuous warning colors that signal chemical or other defenses are common in the natural world
Our results show that the pale mutation observed in our laboratory cultures of Lygaeus simulans is a recessive allele that is inherited in Genotype PP PW WP WW
TA B L E 3 Descriptive statistics for Experiment 2 in terms of the mean body lengths of both males and females in each of the four experimental genotypes suggest that the color locus is pleiotropically associated with female fecundity, female longevity, and to a smaller extent with male body size
Summary
Conspicuous warning colors that signal chemical or other defenses are common in the natural world (aposematism: Cott, 1940; Rojas, Valkonen, & Nokelainen, 2015a; Ruxton, Sherratt, & Speed, 2004). We noticed the appearance of a pale mutant of L. simulans in 2012 (we note that a “gray” mu‐ tant was observed in a laboratory population of L. equestris from northern Italy, with mutant fifth‐instar nymphs being described as “gray” in coloration, and there may be similarities between the two: Sillén‐Tullberg, 1985a; 1985b) Both L. equestris and L. simulans have recently been the focus of a range of studies exploring the reproduc‐ tive behavior and ecology of the species, including work on hetero‐ specific matings (reproductive interference: Shuker, Currie, Hoole, & Burdfield‐steel, 2015), mating failure (Greenway & Shuker, 2015; Greenway, Balfour, & Shuker, 2017), and pre‐ and post‐copulatory sexual selection (Burdfield‐Steel , Auty, & Shuker, 2015; Dougherty & Shuker, 2014, 2016; Dougherty, Rahman, Burdfield‐Steel, Greenway, & Shuker, 2015). Our data suggest that the color locus is pleiotropic with some life‐history traits, open‐ ing the door for a more complete genetic analysis of aposematic col‐ oration in this species
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