Sperm depletion and mating behavior in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)

Abstract

Mating behavior was examined in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni. Males attempted copulation with both virgins and already mated females. Males attempted copulation regardless of whether they still had sperm. Already mated females rejected attempts to mate again but virgin females would mate with males regardless of whether or not they had sperm left. Males mated with 12-52 females before exhausting their sperm supplies. Males that had mated only once daily exhausted their sperm supplies in their late thirties (days old), if ever; and males that had mated four times daily exhausted their's at 7-13 days. Males produced as many as 438 daughters from their first four matings. Fifty-seven percent (17 of 30) of females that had mated with virgin males exhibited a decrease in proportion of daughters with age, presumably as a result of sperm depletion. Whether or not a female depleted her sperm supplies was not related to her size or the total number of daughters that she had produced.