Mating and reproduction not only provide benefits but can also incur substantial costs. An increasing number of recent studies have indicated that mate searching, mating, and ejaculate production requires large amount of energy which can result in high cost to males. Here, we examine the effect of number of matings of males and mating duration on mating and reproductive success in Menochilus sexmaculatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) by subjecting them to 3 consecutive matings of 30, 60, 90 min, and complete mating (a) with no interval and (b) with interval of 24 hr between the matings. The results reveal a reduction in reproductive performance for both the setup and reduction is more when mating is consecutive without gap. This shows that between subsequent matings males require time to recuperate the sperm/ejaculate. As a male engages in a greater number of matings, the time it takes to begin mating when paired with a female increases and the overall duration of mating decreases. However, frequent mating attempts made by males result in reduction in their body weight. Thus, in this ladybird beetle mating and related physiological process consume lots of energy and the body weight of males tend to decrease which further modifies their reproductive performance. The study helps us to identify the cost of mating from male's perspective and indicates that males need to rejuvenate between the matings.

中文翻译：

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雄性Menochilus sexmaculatus（Fabricius）的交配成本（鞘翅目：球虫科）

交配和繁殖不仅会带来好处，而且还会招致大量成本。越来越多的最新研究表明，寻找伴侣，交配和射精生产需要大量能量，这可能导致雄性付出高昂的代价。在这里，我们检查的男性交配的数量对交配和繁殖成功的影响，交配持续时间六斑六点始叶螨（鞘翅目：球虫），将它们进行30、60、90分钟的3次连续交配，并完全交配（a）无间隔，（b）交配之间间隔24小时。结果表明，在没有间隙的情况下连续进行交配时，生殖的生殖性能下降，并且下降幅度更大。这表明，在随后的交配之间，雄性需要时间来恢复精子/射精。随着雄性进行大量的交配，与雌性配对时开始交配的时间增加，并且交配的总持续时间减少。但是，雄性频繁交配会导致体重减轻。从而，在这种瓢虫交配和相关的生理过程中，它消耗大量能量，雄性体重趋于下降，这进一步改变了它们的繁殖性能。该研究帮助我们从雄性的角度确定了交配的成本，并表明雄性需要在交配之间恢复活力。