Insemination Capability of Male Pteromalus Venustus (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a Gregarious Parasitoid of Megachile Rotundata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)
Inseminative ability in Pteromalus venusus, an arrhenotokous parasitoid presumed to have evolved under Local Mate Competition, was studied by recording the progeny production of a series of six virgin females presented to males at hourly intervals. Most males did not reach the upper limits of their...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1993-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1993/56052 |
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| Summary: | Inseminative ability in Pteromalus venusus, an arrhenotokous
parasitoid presumed to have evolved under Local Mate Competition,
was studied by recording the progeny production of a series
of six virgin females presented to males at hourly intervals. Most
males did not reach the upper limits of their inseminative abilities:
Three-quarters of the males inseminated at least four females,
twice the ratio of females-to-males in an average brood (2:1).
There was no evidence of sperm depletion: The few uninseminated
females did not tend to be those presented later in the mating
sequence, and a comparison of progeny production by female position
in the mating sequence showed no tendency for females presented
later to produce fewer females than those presented earlier.
The data suggest that males can inseminate at least twice the number
of females that normally share a host with them. The breeding
system of this species may be moving towards panmixis because of
recent selection pressures caused by domestication of its primary
host, the alfalfa leafcutting bee. |
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| ISSN: | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |