Premium
Mating refusal and its significance in females of the ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis
Author(s) -
OBATA SHOHKO
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3032.1988.tb00923.x
Subject(s) - biology , harmonia axyridis , coccinellidae , receptivity , mating , zoology , ecology , predation , predator , endocrinology
. . Mating receptivity in females of the ladybird, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was studied with reference to internal and environmental conditions. Females sometimes reject copulation: they run away, or shake off the male and bend the abdomen upwards. Newly emerged females show a greater likelihood of accepting copulation with an advance in the stage of ovarian development, this being related to age. Females usually mate repeatedly, but frequently show refusal behaviour under unfavourable food conditions. Dissections reveal that females which accept copulation have a greater number of mature eggs in the ovary than do rejectors. Results also suggest that the food conditions are a major environmental factor, directly controlling mating receptivity.