In:
ZooKeys, Pensoft Publishers, Vol. 1177 ( 2023-08-30), p. 75-85
Abstract:
Armatures of the male intromittent copulatory structures have been surmised to increase male fitness by imposing physiological costs on female re-mating. Female kicking could, consequently, be a counterstrategy to avoid wounding or to prevent males from mating. The membranous endophallus of male Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say, 1831) is armed with denticles. Checking if these denticles penetrate the wall of the female genital tract during copulation revealed that only the tip of the median lobe of the aedeagus is intromitted into the female genital opening during copulation. The everted endophallus extends over the full length of the ovipositor, and the spermatophore is placed in the bursa. Identification by means of light microscopy and Micro-CT of the exact relative position of male and female copulatory organs while mated confirmed that the denticles do not cause wounds in the vagina wall. Parts of the inner wall of the bursa copulatrix are covered with inward pointing denticles. Already mated females kick mounting males by vehement movements of their hind legs, thereby preventing mating. In contrast, virgin females usually accept the first male they encounter and terminate copulation by slower movements of their hind legs. The same applied to females who accepted re-mating the second day after the first copulation. Acanthoscelides obtectus females kick males off to prevent rather than to terminate copulation. Copulatory structures as well as behaviour may have different functional roles in different beetle species, even within the Bruchinae.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1313-2970
,
1313-2989
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure1
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure2
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure3
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure4
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure5
DOI:
10.3897/zookeys.1177.101621.figure6
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Pensoft Publishers
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2445640-8
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2478488-6
SSG:
12