A Method for Sexing Living Pupal and Adult Yellow Mealworms1

Bhattacharya, A. K.; Ameel, J. J.; Waldbauer, G. P.

doi:10.1093/aesa/63.6.1783

Cited by 86 publications

(53 citation statements)

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“…All containers are stored in wellventilated dark places, at ambient humidity and under temperature-controlled conditions. Subjects used in our experiments were haphazardly collected from the stock cultures and sexed as pupae by examining the developing genitalia on the ventral side of the eighth abdominal segment (Bhattacharya et al 1970). Individuals were examined under a dissecting microscope both as pupae and after eclosion, and beetles with obvious malformations were discarded.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

2006

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Males of many species adjust their reproductive behaviour according to the perceived risk of sperm competition. Although this phenomenon is widespread in insects and other animals, the mechanisms that allow mates to assess sperm competition levels remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analysed the mating behaviour of pairs of Tenebrio molitor beetles under three odour treatments representing increasing levels of sperm competition risk (SCR) and sperm competition intensity (SCI). Copula duration and male and female post-copulatory behaviour varied significantly with odour treatment. Both copula duration and post-copulatory associations (PCAs) increased significantly in odour treatments reflecting high male density. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that insects may assess the actual density of potential competitors at the time of mating, a cue to SCR and SCI, on the basis of chemical cues. In T. molitor, males inhibit sperm release from the spermatophore of a rival male when remating takes place at short intervals. We show that, when sperm competition levels are high, PCAs increase female remating interval just above that necessary to prevent spermatophore inhibition by rival males. This finding strongly suggests that strategic male behaviour plays a 'spermatophore guarding' role in this species. Although common in insects with external spermatophore transfer, spermatophore guarding is not expected in species with rapid ejaculate transfer and internal spermatophore delivery. Our results reveal that spermatophore guarding may evolve, even under these circumstances, as an evolutionary response to short-term spermatophore inhibition or displacement mechanisms.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

2006

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“…Cultures were maintained on a 4:20 h light: dark cycle. Pupae were removed from the cultures, and the male and female pupae (Bhattacharya, Ameel & Waldbauer, 1970) were placed in separate dishes containing wheat bran, yeast, and potato. The beetles that emerged during a 48 h period were collected, separated into groups (10 beetles/group), and maintained as above until they were 14-18 days old.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased coprophagic activity of the Beetle, Tenebrio molitor, on feces containing eggs of the tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta

Pappas

Marschall

Morrison

et al. 1995

International Journal for Parasitology

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Abstract.When provided with fecal pellets from uninfected (control) rats and rats infected with the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta, more fed and starved (72 h) female and starved male Tenebrio molitor fed on fecal pellets from infected-than from control rats; compared to fecal pellets from controls rats, fed males avoided the infective fecal pellets. Uninfective and infective fecal pellets had similar moisture contents, so increased coprophagic activity was not due to differences in moisture content. Fed and starved males and females were fed on fecal pellets containing tapeworm eggs and examined for cysticercoids. Significantly greater numbers of starved beetles than fed beetles were infected with cysticercoids, but the numbers of infected males and females within each treatment were not significantly different. On the other hand, males contained significantly greater numbers of cysticercoids than did females, and there was no significant difference between the numbers of cysticercoids recovered from fed and starved beetles. The data support the hypothesis that the feeding behavior of T. molitor on rat feces is altered by the presence of tapeworm eggs. The data demonstrated further that transmission dynamics are affected by a complex interaction of the beetle's sex and nutritional status.

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“…The stock culture was maintained at 25±2°C on bran mixed with wheat flour, fresh carrots and apples. We removed pupae from the culture on the day of pupation, weighed them, and determined their sex according to Bhattacharya et al (1970). We then kept the pupae and newly emerged adults individually in numbered 200 ml plastic containers filled with a mixture of bran and wheat flour and with fresh carrot/apple pieces offered ad libitum.…”

Section: Beetlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Repeatability of Anti-Predator Responses and Resting Metabolic Rate in a Beetle

et al. 2013

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Measures of repeatability are essential for understanding behavioral consistency and individual differences in behavior, i.e. animal personalities. We studied antipredator responses of the yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) and performed behavioral tests in plastic containers representing a typical laboratory environment of T. molitor. Behavioral tests were repeated in Eppendorf test tubes where we also measured resting metabolic rate (RMR). Results show that the response latency to a threatening/startling stimulus, and the total time spent in the state of tonic immobility, correlated across the tests. The behavioral responses were repeatable and RMR covaried phenotypically with personality: we found a negative correlation between response latency time and time spent immobile, a positive correlation between response latency and RMR, and a negative correlation between RMR and total time spent immobile. These correlations were also similar across trials performed in the Eppendorf test tubes and the plastic containers.

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A Method for Sexing Living Pupal and Adult Yellow Mealworms1

Cited by 86 publications

References 0 publications

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

Increased coprophagic activity of the Beetle, Tenebrio molitor, on feces containing eggs of the tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta

High Repeatability of Anti-Predator Responses and Resting Metabolic Rate in a Beetle

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