Differential movement and activity patterns of sexes in a biparental beetle during the reproductive season

Abstract

1. Biparental care is stabilised if parents perform different tasks during care. Specialised parental roles may require different time and energy budgets that in turn are expected to influence the activity and space use of sexes. 2. Here we investigate movement patterns of the biparental Lethrus apterus beetle using a grid of pitfall traps in their natural habitat. 3. Sexes of the burrow building L. apterus perform different roles during caregiving, as females collect most of the leaves, which serve as food for the offspring while paired males stay mostly in the burrow. We hypothesised that sex differences in mate search and parental activities are reflected in movement patterns. 4. We found that females frequently travelled short distances, whereas males were detected less often but when detected, they travelled significantly longer distances than females. 5. Our results are consistent with the notion that efficient parental food provisioning requires more localised movement and activity patterns. Furthermore, the long distance movements of some males may indicate active mate searching behaviour.