Mating marks on museum specimens reveal breeding patterns in species of Pterostichus Bonelli (Carabidae, Pterostichini).

ABSTRACT: We found distinct and consistently placed, species- and sex-specific abrasions of the cuticle on museum specimens of 14 species of the Pterostichus Bonelli, 1810 (Carabidae, Pterostichini) subgenusHypherpes Chaudoir, 1838. We deduced that these marks are generated during mating and, therefore, can be used to distinguish between preserved specimens of beetles that had previously mated at the time of capture and those that had not mated. In addition to describing and detailing the occurrence of the marks and providing evidence that they are the result of mating, we demonstrate their utility for inferring life history using a museum voucher collection. By scoring these indications of mating from pinned specimens, we describe life cycle patterns in two similar, relatively closely relate

SUBMITTER: Will K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8486734 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature