The reproductive interests of females and males often diverge in terms of the number of mating partners, an individual’s phenotype, origin, genes, and parental investment. This conflict may lead to a variety of sex‐specific adaptations and also affect mate choice in both sexes. We conducted an experiment with the bush‐cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), a species in which females receive direct nutritional benefits during mating. Mated individuals could be assigned due to the genotype of male spermatodoses, which are stored in the female’s spermatheca. After 3 weeks of possible copulations in established mating groups which were random replications with four females and males we did not find consistent assortative mating preference regarding to body size of mates. However, our results showed that the frequency of within‐pair copulations (192 analyzed mating events in 128 possible pairwise combinations) was positively associated with the body size of both mated individuals with significant interaction between sexes (having one mate very large, association between body size and the number of copulations has weaken). Larger individuals also showed a higher degree of polygamy. This suggests that body size of this nuptial gift‐giving insect species is an important sexual trait according to which both sexes choose their optimal mating partner.
Phylogenetic analysis and assessment of the species status of mostly isolated populations of Pholidoptera
frivaldszkyi in south-western Russia occurring far beyond the accepted area of the species distribution in the Carpathian-Balkan region were performed. Using the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment, we found a very low level of genetic diversity in these populations. Phylogeographic reconstruction did not support recent introduction events but rather historical range fragmentation. The grouping of the Russian and Romanian haplotypes in a distinct phylogenetic clade suggests that the pre-glacial range of P.
frivaldszkyi had extended towards the Ponto-Caspian region, with considerable gene flow between different refugia. However, post-glacial northward expansion of the species from supposed Caucasus refugia contributed most likely to the current disjunct distribution of this relict-like bush-cricket.
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