Courtship and mating behaviour in the parasitoid wasp<i>Cotesia urabae</i>(Hymenoptera: Braconidae): mate location and the influence of competition and body size on male mating success

Avila, Gonzalo A.; Withers, T. M.; Holwell, Gregory I.

doi:10.1017/s0007485316001127

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Outstanding pivotal position of body size in evolutionary biology and ecology research is given in particular by close relationships between body size and fitness components. For example, larger females are more fecund (Sota, ; Honěk, ; Marshall et al ., ; Pincheira‐Donoso & Hunt, ), whereas larger males often have a higher mating success (Savalli & Fox, ; Arriaga‐Osnaya et al ., ; Avila, Withers & Holwell, ). In addition, larger sized insects are frequently able to cope better with stressful environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steep converse Bergmann's cline in a carrion beetle: between‐ and within‐population variation in body size along an elevational gradient

Baranovská

Knapp

2017

Journal of Zoology

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Body size is an integrative trait with substantial fitness consequences in animals. Geographical clines in body size have fascinated biologists because of their potential to provide insight into the mechanisms governing local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. In this complex study, we focused on variation in body size of Silpha carinata (Coleoptera: Silphidae) along elevation gradients in Central Europe. Altitudinal clines were investigated separately for males and females as sex-specific responses to environmental conditions are documented for a variety of insect species. To identify potential underlying mechanisms responsible for observed patterns, a common garden experiment and investigation of within-population variation in body size were performed. Body size of S. carinata recorded in nature sharply decreased with increasing altitude in both genders, whereas sexual size dimorphism did not change with altitude. The degree of within-population variation in body size recorded in nature did not change with altitude. Under standardized laboratory conditions, higher altitude females produced smaller eggs than those from lower altitude. This size difference persisted to the very end of the larval period. Unfortunately, only few offspring survived till adulthood in the laboratory and thus precise analysis of offspring adult sizes was unfeasible, but between-population differences in body size seems to persist to adulthood. The observed converse Bergmann's cline in S. carinata fits well with what has been predicted for large, carnivorous, univoltine insect species. Until now, investigation of within-population variation in body size is rare in insects, and future complementary studies focused on this issue are highly needed as within-population variation could explain body size patterns observed at between-population level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steep converse Bergmann's cline in a carrion beetle: between‐ and within‐population variation in body size along an elevational gradient

Baranovská

Knapp

2017

Journal of Zoology

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“…The displacement experiments showed that larger intact/muted males nearly always succeeded when they competed against smaller intact/muted males. Through these experiments, we confirmed that body size itself is an important factor determining the outcome of male‐male competition, as has been reported previously in other animals (Alcock, 1995; Hagelin, 2002; Chelliah & Sukumar, 2013; Benelli et al ., 2016; Avila et al ., 2017). When two males encountered each other, no matter their size, the dispute is settled by fighting in which the first male attempts to block the gallery by fighting to keep the intruder out of the gallery (see Video S1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fighting and aggressive sound determines larger male to win male‐male competition in a bark beetle

2020

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Intrasexual selection occurs in male-male competition over access to females and usually results in the larger male winning. While much research has documented that size matters, little is known about how the larger male wins. Dendroctonus valens is an aggregating monogamous bark beetle in which males have large variation in body size and display intense competition over females. Behavioral observation showed two males fight each other within the gallery by pushing/shoving and stridulated more when two males encountered each other. Experiments using two different-sized males synchronously competing showed that larger males won 95% of contests. Reciprocal displacement experiments using muted and intact males of different or equal size were used to simulate male-male competition. Larger males displaced the smaller resident male in 90% of contests, while smaller males prevailed over larger residents in 6.7% of contests. With both males silenced, larger males displaced smaller males in 80% of contests, while smaller males prevailed in 8% of contests. Further experiments using equal-sized males showed aggressive soundemitting males displaced muted males in 67% of contests, yet intact males displaced other intact males in only 37.5% of contests. Sound analysis showed sound pressure level is an honest signal of body size and males chose soft sounds over loud aggressive sounds in assays. Therefore, D. valens males have evolved dual behaviors, fighting and aggressive sounds associated with body size, to assess rivals to compete for a partner, gaining insights in male-male competition for this species and for other animals.

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“…Courtship behavior of some Cotesia species has been studied to improve mass rearing in biological control programs (e.g. [21,42]). However, most species remain taxonomically undescribed and limited information is available beyond descriptions, host usage, and ranges for the majority of described species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary relationships of courtship songs in the parasitic wasp genus, Cotesia (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Bredlau¹,

Kester²

2019

PLoS ONE

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Acoustic signals play an important role in premating isolation based on sexual selection within many taxa. Many male parasitic wasps produce characteristic courtship songs used by females in mate selection. In Cotesia (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae), courtship songs are generated by wing fanning with repetitive pulses in stereotypical patterns. Our objectives were to sample the diversity of courtship songs within Cotesia and to identify e underlying patterns of differentiation. We compared songs among 12 of ca. 80 Cotesia species in North America, including ten species that have not been recorded previously. For Cotesia congregata, we compared songs of wasps originating from six different host-foodplant sources, two of which are considered incipient species. Songs of emergent males from wild caterpillar hosts in five different families were recorded, and pattern, frequency, and duration of song elements analyzed. Principal component analysis converted the seven elements characterized into four uncorrelated components used in a hierarchical cluster analysis and grouped species by similarity of song structure. Species songs varied significantly in duration of repeating pulse and buzz elements and/or in fundamental frequency. Cluster analysis resolved similar species groups in agreement with the most recent molecular phylogeny for Cotesia spp., indicating the potential for using courtship songs as a predictor of genetic relatedness. Courtship song analysis may aid in identifying closely related cryptic species that overlap spatially, and provide insight into the evolution of this highly diverse and agriculturally important taxon.

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Courtship and mating behaviour in the parasitoid waspCotesia urabae(Hymenoptera: Braconidae): mate location and the influence of competition and body size on male mating success

Cited by 19 publications

References 50 publications

Steep converse Bergmann's cline in a carrion beetle: between‐ and within‐population variation in body size along an elevational gradient

Steep converse Bergmann's cline in a carrion beetle: between‐ and within‐population variation in body size along an elevational gradient

Fighting and aggressive sound determines larger male to win male‐male competition in a bark beetle

Evolutionary relationships of courtship songs in the parasitic wasp genus, Cotesia (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

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