Effect of Male Mesadene Secretions on Females of Canthon cyanellus cyanellus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

This study determined the effect of male mesadene secretions on females of Canthon cyanellus cyanellus LECONTE, both when they were inseminated normally and when the secretions were transplanted to virgin females. In the first case, mating took place when the ovary was immature, triggering ovarian maturation, egg laying and nest building. In the second case, the transplantation of male mesadene secretions to virgin females initiated ovarian maturation, but neither egg laying nor nest building took place. Virgin females that did not receive the secretions had no ovarian maturation and did not lay eggs or build nests. It is therefore possible that male mesadene secretions induce ovarian maturation. In the present study, this inducement was greater in inseminated females than in those receiving transplanted secretions.