Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests
Aggressive interactions between males are common when victors gain increased mating success but can result in severe injury or death for the defeated. <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of hemipteran and lepidopteran species. Here, we invest...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Muhammad Yasir Ali Gonzalo A. Avila Zheng-Yu Luo Muhammad Asghar Hassan Khalid Ali Khan Jin-Ping Zhang Feng Zhang |
| author_facet | Muhammad Yasir Ali Gonzalo A. Avila Zheng-Yu Luo Muhammad Asghar Hassan Khalid Ali Khan Jin-Ping Zhang Feng Zhang |
| author_sort | Muhammad Yasir Ali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aggressive interactions between males are common when victors gain increased mating success but can result in severe injury or death for the defeated. <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of hemipteran and lepidopteran species. Here, we investigated lethal interactions between <i>A. japonicus</i> males and analyzed aggression behavior scaled with the male condition, number of competitors, number of presented females, and female mating status. The intensity of <i>A. japonicus</i> male aggressiveness increased with the number of competitors and the number of presented females but was not affected by male relatedness. The intensity and frequency of <i>A. japonicus</i> male aggressive interactions were greater when males competed for virgin females compared to mated females. Larger <i>A. japonicus</i> males won more contests than smaller males and honey-fed males defeated starved ones, where defeated males suffered the loss of appendages and/or died. Fighting appeared to be the norm in all-male groupings, regardless of the presence of females. A number of biological and ecological factors are deducted that likely contribute to the evolution of male aggressive behavior in <i>A. japonicus</i>. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6ea0c0a8d5cb4850b3ab0f1b7bef3f52 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-6ea0c0a8d5cb4850b3ab0f1b7bef3f522025-01-24T13:35:42ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-01-011614510.3390/insects16010045Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous PestsMuhammad Yasir Ali0Gonzalo A. Avila1Zheng-Yu Luo2Muhammad Asghar Hassan3Khalid Ali Khan4Jin-Ping Zhang5Feng Zhang6MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-Safety, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaThe New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland 1025, New ZealandMARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-Safety, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaThe Provincial Special Key Laboratory for Development and Utilization of Insect Resources, Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, ChinaCenter of Bee Research and Its Products (CBRP), and Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi ArabiaMARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-Safety, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaMARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-Safety, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaAggressive interactions between males are common when victors gain increased mating success but can result in severe injury or death for the defeated. <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a solitary egg parasitoid of hemipteran and lepidopteran species. Here, we investigated lethal interactions between <i>A. japonicus</i> males and analyzed aggression behavior scaled with the male condition, number of competitors, number of presented females, and female mating status. The intensity of <i>A. japonicus</i> male aggressiveness increased with the number of competitors and the number of presented females but was not affected by male relatedness. The intensity and frequency of <i>A. japonicus</i> male aggressive interactions were greater when males competed for virgin females compared to mated females. Larger <i>A. japonicus</i> males won more contests than smaller males and honey-fed males defeated starved ones, where defeated males suffered the loss of appendages and/or died. Fighting appeared to be the norm in all-male groupings, regardless of the presence of females. A number of biological and ecological factors are deducted that likely contribute to the evolution of male aggressive behavior in <i>A. japonicus</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/1/45male parasitoidaggressionbody sizelocal mate competitionfoodmale relatedness |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Yasir Ali Gonzalo A. Avila Zheng-Yu Luo Muhammad Asghar Hassan Khalid Ali Khan Jin-Ping Zhang Feng Zhang Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests Insects male parasitoid aggression body size local mate competition food male relatedness |
| title | Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests |
| title_full | Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests |
| title_fullStr | Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests |
| title_short | Lethal Male Combat of <i>Anastatus japonicus</i> (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an Egg Parasitoid of Lepidopterous and Hemipterous Pests |
| title_sort | lethal male combat of i anastatus japonicus i hymenoptera eupelmidae an egg parasitoid of lepidopterous and hemipterous pests |
| topic | male parasitoid aggression body size local mate competition food male relatedness |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/1/45 |
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