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Male body size does not affect the refractory period of females in the West Indian sweet potato weevil Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the seed bug Togo hemipterus (Scott) (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

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Abstract

Multiple mating by females increases both the risk and intensity of sperm competition for males. The ability to temporarily or permanently inhibit female receptivity to further mating represents a highly adaptive strategy to reduce the risk of sperm competition. Males of the West Indian sweet potato weevil Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the seed bug Togo hemipterus (Scott) (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae) use accessory gland substances to inhibit remating in females. It is known that there is variance in the length of the female refractory period (i.e., the effectiveness of male ejaculate substances that inhibit female remating) within a species. However, it is unclear what types of male traits affect the length of the female refractory period. The mechanism of the female refractory period is not sufficiently revealed. We focused on male body size, which is often a target of sexual selection, and investigated the relationship between male body size and both the refractory period of females and mating duration. Contrary to our thought, male body size did not significantly influence the refractory period of females or mating duration in either species. Smaller male body size was not particularly favored by post-copulatory sexual selection in either species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Satoshi Kinjo, Ms. Rimi Miyagi, Mr. Kazuya Uehara, Mr. Hiraku Nakazato, Mr. Riki Yamaneko, Ms. Midori, Ms. Toyoko Izumi, and Mr. Tetsuzo Shimoji for their help with conducting some of our experiments. We also thank members of the Okinawa Prefectural Plant Protection Center and Ryukyu Sankei Co. Ltd. for their assistance with this study. This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (No. 24-4740) and a Grant‐in‐Aid for Scientific Research (C) (No. 18K05667 to C.H.) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The experiments conducted in this study comply with the current laws of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Okinawa Prefectural Plant Protection Center, Naha, Okinawa, 902-0072, Japan

    Chihiro Himuro, Atsushi Honma, Yusuke Ikegawa & Tsuyoshi Ohishi

  2. Ryukyu Sankei Co., Ltd, Naha, Okinawa, 902-0072, Japan

    Chihiro Himuro, Atsushi Honma & Yusuke Ikegawa

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Chihiro Himuro, Atsushi Honma & Yusuke Ikegawa

  4. Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology, Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

    Takahisa Miyatake

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  1. Chihiro Himuro
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  2. Atsushi Honma
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  3. Yusuke Ikegawa
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  4. Tsuyoshi Ohishi
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  5. Takahisa Miyatake
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by CH, AH, YI and TO. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CH and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chihiro Himuro.

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Himuro, C., Honma, A., Ikegawa, Y. et al. Male body size does not affect the refractory period of females in the West Indian sweet potato weevil Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the seed bug Togo hemipterus (Scott) (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae). J Ethol 39, 39–46 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-020-00669-9

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