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Operational sex ratio and paternal age sway mating and reproductive performance in Menochilus sexmaculatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2020

Swati Saxena
Affiliation:
Ladybird Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow226007, India
Geetanjali Mishra
Affiliation:
Ladybird Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow226007, India
Omkar*
Affiliation:
Ladybird Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, Lucknow226007, India
*
*Corresponding author. Email: omkar.lkouniv@gmail.com

Abstract

Operational sex ratio and paternal age are known to independently affect mating behaviour and reproductive performance. We conducted experiments to assess the effects of operational sex ratio and paternal age on mating, reproduction, and total development duration of Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Three male-biased sex ratios, no (1:1), modest (1:2), and extreme (1:5) competition treatments, were formed using young, middle-aged, and old males. The reproductive performance of M. sexmaculatus at all ages under extreme competition (1:5) surpassed the other two treatments. More competition among males decreased the time of commencement of mating and increased the duration of copulation. Females laid a greater number of eggs in extreme competition treatments. The operational sex ratio (irrespective of age) had no significant effect on the total developmental duration of offspring. Among different age groups, older males took more time to commence mating and mated for longer durations in all the sex ratio treatments. The number of eggs in the first clutch was lowest when females were mated with older males with increased offspring development duration. Thus, it can be concluded that male-biased sex ratio elevates the performance of M. sexmaculatus. Among different age groups, older males were poor performers than young and middle-aged males.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
© 2020 Entomological Society of Canada

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Chris Starr

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