Mating frequency of European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas

Abstract

The frequency of mating and polyandry in natural populations are important parameters for understanding evolutionary dynamics. Mating frequency among natural populations of Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) [Lepidoptera: Crambidae] are quite variable. Showers et al. (1974) found 91.1, 73.8, and 71.3% of females had mated during the second flight over 1971-3 at one location in Iowa. During 1971, only 10% mated multiple times, with lower levels of polyandry in subsequent years. In an earlier study in Iowa, Pesho (1961) found that 65-100 % of females had mated and up to 43% had mated more than once. A population in southwestern Ontario averaged 73% mating and 37% polyandry for the 5-year period from 1971-5, a higher rate of polyandry than during the same period in Iowa (Elliot, 1977). In this note, we amplify these previously published results by reporting the mating status of female O. nubilalis captured in light traps in Minnesota, Kansas and Texas. We also provide evidence that some females in natural populations may be sperm-limited.