Effectiveness of second mating for two incompatible types of the citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor)

Summary Two types of the citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (M.) occur in some pear orchards in the intermediate latitudal areas in Japan during a certain period of the year ( Takafuji and Morimoto , 1983): one is a diapausing type ( DP ) and the other a non‐diapausing type ( C ). These two types are incompatible: no adult females are produced from the crosses between them ( Takafuji and Fujimoto , 1985). In the present study, females of each type were doubly crossed, first with a male of the other type, and then with a male of the same type, to examine the effectiveness of the second mating. In the females of the DP type, the second mating with a male of the same type was almost totally ineffective. In contrast, for the females of the C type the effectiveness of the second mating depended on the durations of the first and second matings: the famles produced female offspring only when the duration of the first copulation with a male of the DP type was brief and the second copulation with a male of the C type lasted relatively long. The results suggested that if the two types coexist, the intercrossing between them will favour the C type over the DP type.