Abstract
Males of the white grub beetle, Dasylepida ishigakiensis Niijima et Kinoshita, transfer a large amount of a colloidal substance to females during mating. In this study we investigated the effect of the male substance on the reproductive performance of mated females and the significance of multiple mating of this beetle. Females artificially separated from the males 5 min after the start of mating produced fewer eggs than those separated after 30 min or those that were undisturbed and separated spontaneously, suggesting that the male substance is used as a nutrient for egg production by the females. When females were allowed to mate with 1–4 males, multiple mating had no clear effect on reproductive performance. The amount of male substance stored in the bursa copulatrix (BC) was not significantly increased by a second mating. The functions of multiple mating of this species may be to provide a chance for females to obtain sufficient amounts of male substance when the first male to mate has only small amounts of this substance, and to increase the genetic heterogeneity of the progeny. The presence of a serine proteinase and its possible involvement in the dynamics of the BC contents are reported.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arakaki N, Sadoyama Y, Kishita M et al (2004) Mating behavior of the scarab beetles Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Appl Entomol Zool 39:669–674
Chapman T, Hutchings J, Partridge L (1993) No reduction in the cost of mating for Drosophila melanogaster females mating with spermless males. Proc R Soc B 253:211–217
Chapman T, Liddle LF, Kalb JM et al (1995) Cost of mating in Drosophila melanogaster females is mediated by male accessory gland products. Nature 373:241–244
Fowler K, Partridge L (1989) A cost of mating in female fruit flies. Nature 338:760–761
Gillott C (2003) Male accessory gland secretions: modulators of female reproductive physiology and behavior. Ann Rev Entomol 48:163–184
Harano K, Tanaka S, Tokuda M et al (2010a) Factors influencing adult emergence from soil and the vertical distribution of burrowing scarab beetles Dasylepida ishigakiensis. Physiol Entomol 35:287–295
Harano K, Tanaka S, Yasui H et al (2010b) Multiple mating, prolonged copulation and male substance in a scarab beetle Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Int J Trop Insect Sci 30:119–126
Hayashi F, Kamimura Y (2002) The potential for incorporation of male derived proteins into developing eggs in the leafhopper Bothrogonia ferruginea. J Insect Physiol 48:153–159
Kotaki K (2005) Oosorption in the stink bug, Plautia crossota stali: follicle cells as the site of protein degradation. Inv Reprod Dev 47:147–153
Oyafuso A, Arakaki N, Sadoyama Y et al (2002) Life history of the white grub Dasylepida sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), a new and severe pest on sugarcane on the Miyako Islands, Okinawa. Appl Entomol Zool 37:595–601
Partridge L, Farquhar M (1981) Sexual activity reduces lifespan of male fruitflies. Nature 294:580–582
Rooney J, Lewis SM (1999) Differential allocation of male-derived nutrients in two lampyrid beetles with contrasting life-history characteristics. Behav Ecol 10:97–104
Sadoyama Y, Oroku H, Nakamori H (2001) Injury of sugar cane roots by the white grub, Dasylepida sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), in the Miyako Islands. Jpn J Appl Entomol Zool 45:89–91 (in Japanese with English abstract)
Tanaka S, Yukuhiro F, Yasui H et al (2008) Presence of larval and adult diapauses in a subtropical scarab beetle: graded thermal response for synchronised sexual maturation and reproduction. Physiol Entomol 33:334–345
Wakamura S, Yasui H, Akino T et al (2009a) Identification of (R)-2-butanol as a sex attractant pheromone of the while grub beetle, Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), a serious sugarcane pest in the Miyako Islands of Japan. Appl Entomol Zool 44:231–239
Wakamura S, Yasui H, Mochizuki F et al (2009b) Formulation of highly volatile pheromone of the white grub beetle Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) for development of monitoring trap. Appl Entomol Zool 44:579–586
Yamane T, Miyatake T (2010) Induction of oviposition by injection of male-derived extracts in two Callosobruchus species. J Insect Physiol 56:1783–1788
Yamane T, Miyatake T, Kimura Y (2008a) Female mating receptivity after injection of male-derived extracts in Callosobruchus maculatus. J Insect Physiol 54:1522–1527
Yamane T, Kimura Y, Katsuhara M, Miyatake T (2008b) Female mating receptivity inhibited by injection of male-derived extracts in Callosobruchus chinensis. J Insect Physiol 54:501–507
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Mr Hiroaki Oroku of the MB-OPARC for his logistic support. We also thank Dr Koutaro Maeno for his kind help with experiments and Ms Ikuko Hashimoto for her assistance with rearing insects at NIASO.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harano, Ki., Tokuda, M., Kotaki, T. et al. The significance of multiple mating and male substance transferred to females at mating in the white grub beetle, Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Appl Entomol Zool 47, 245–254 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-012-0116-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-012-0116-8