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Predominant female care in the beetle Lethrus apterus with supposedly biparental care
Author(s) -
Kosztolányi András,
Nagy Nikoletta,
Kovács Tibor,
Barta Zoltán
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
entomological science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1479-8298
pISSN - 1343-8786
DOI - 10.1111/ens.12123
Subject(s) - paternal care , biology , burrow , nest (protein structural motif) , offspring , zoology , ecology , habitat , pregnancy , biochemistry , genetics
Although intensive care for offspring by both parents is rare in arthropods, it occurs in some species including the beetle L ethrus apterus . According to previous publications, in this species the male collects leaves, which are used by the female to form balls in the underground nest burrow. These balls serve as food for the hatched offspring. Most knowledge about the behavior of this species is based on information collected more than a century ago. Therefore, we investigated above‐ground breeding behavior and the status of nest burrows of this beetle in its natural habitat in H ungary. Our results suggest that contrary to previously documented cases, above‐ground parental care, i.e. the collection of leaves, is done predominantly not by the males but the females. Further research is needed to understand the role of the sexes in parental care in this species and to explain the discrepancy between the previously documented cases and the results we report here.