Mating behaviour, mate choice and female resistance in the bean flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti).

ABSTRACT: Many species of thrips (Thysanoptera) in the family Thripidae form mating aggregations, but the adaptive significance of these aggregations and the extent of male and female mate choice is poorly understood. We studied the mating behaviour of the bean flower thrips Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), which forms male aggregations and occurs across sub-Saharan Africa. We tested whether males choose mates by female age or mating status. No-choice mating bioassays with one male and one female were used to simulate the way males usually encounter only one female at a time in aggregations in the field. Virgin females violently resisted mating attempts by males, but we found no compelling evidence to establish whether this was indiscriminate or was screening suitable mal

SUBMITTER: Akinyemi AO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8282879 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature