Does Male Sexual Experience Influence Female Mate Choice and Reproduction in the Melon Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)?

Abstract

The mating experience of male insects can have significant effects on female fitness, particularly if prior copulations deplete stores of sperm and/or accessory gland products. Females of several tephritid fruit fly species appear to incur a cost - in terms of reduced longevity or reproductive success – by mating with non-virgin over virgin males. Despite these fitness costs, however, females do not always discriminate among males having different sexual experience. The present study had two objectives. First, mating trials were performed to determine whether virgin females of the melon fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) discriminated between virgin and non-virgin (thrice-mated) males in selecting a mate. Second, survivorship, egg production and egg hatch rate were measured for females mated to virgin or non-virgin males to assess the impact, if any, of male mating experience on female lifespan and reproduction. Results showed that females did not discriminate among males based on their sexual experience and that female survival and reproduction were unaffected by male mating experience. These findings are compared with results obtained for other tephritid species.