Sexual selection and the evolution of male pheromone glands in philanthine wasps (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sexual selection is thought to promote evolutionary changes and diversification. However, the impact of sexual selection in relation to other selective forces is difficult to evaluate. Male digger wasps of the tribe Philanthini (Hymenoptera, Philanthinae) scent mark territories to attract receptive females. Consequently, the organs for production and storage of the marking secretion, the mandibular gland (MG) and the postpharyngeal gland (PPG), are subject to sexual selection. In female Philanthini, these glands are most likely solely subject to natural selection and show very little morphological diversity. According to the hypothesis that sexual selection drives interspecific diversity, we predicted that the MG and PPG show higher interspecific variation in males than

SUBMITTER: Weiss K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5461632 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature