Physical contact, volatiles, and acoustic signals contribute to monogamy in an invasive aggregating bark beetle

AbstractThe behavioral strategies and mechanisms by which some insects maintain monogamous mating systems are not well understood. We investigated the mating system of the bark beetleDendroctonus valens, and identified several contributing mechanisms. Field and laboratory observations suggest the adults commonly form permanent bonds during host colonization. Moreover, it showed mated females that remained paired with males produced more offspring than mated females that were alone in galleries. In bioassays, a second female commonly entered a gallery constructed by a prior female. Videos show she commonly reached the location of the first female, but they did not engage in actual fighting. Rather, the second female typically departs to form her own gallery. Acoustic signaling likewise does not appear to influence female ‐female encounters, based on controlled muting experiments. Instead, the intruder appears to perceive the resident's presence by physical contact. Both acoustic signals and volatiles released by females during gallery constructing were shown to attract males. After a male joined a female in a gall ery, the male‐produced aggressive sounds, which were shown by playback to deter other males from entering the gallery. Unlike female‐female interactions, resident males use their head and rear to push intruders out of galleries. Additionally, volatiles released by males during feeding repelled i ntruding males, discouraging them from entering the gallery. Males...
Source: Insect Science - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research