The Presence of Nearby Virgin Males Sometimes Affects Ejaculate Transfer but not Copula Duration in Stenomacra marginella (Heteroptera: Largidae)

Abstract

In many insect species copulations commonly occur in presence of conspecific individuals (Thornhill and Alcock 1983). The presence of males searching for mates could provide information to copulating individuals and affect their behaviour. For the mating female, the presence of nearby males could allow comparing the relative quality of the current mate with that of other males, and could permit to estimate potential mate searching costs in case further mates are looked for after the current copulation. These estimates could influence female decisions about copula interruption and remating. For the mating male, the perception of additional males in the neighbourhood could be associated with a higher probability of non-virginity of his actual mate and with higher risks of copula interruption and female remating after copulation. These factors translate into higher risks of sperm competition for the male (Parker 1998; Simmons 2001) and in greater opportunity for cryptic female choice (Eberhard 1996). Therefore, males mating in presence of other males are expected to evolve adaptations in response to these selective pressures (Simmons 2001). J Insect Behav (2010) 23:441–446 DOI 10.1007/s10905-010-9227-7