Lightweight males of Podisus nigrispinus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) neglect lightweight females due low reproductive fitness.
Sexual choice by male stink bugs is important because females that experience food shortages lay fewer eggs with lower viability compared with well-fed females. In this study, we investigated whether Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) males fed with a low-quality diet during its nymphal stage show selectivity for sexual partners resulting in high-quality progeny. Lightweight males and females were obtained from nymphs fed weekly with Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) pupae. By contrast, heavyweight males and females were fed three times a week and received an extra nutritional source: cotton leaves, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae). Lightweight males preferred to mate with heavy females (77.78 ± 14.69%), whereas heavyweight males did not discriminated between light or heavyweight females. Females mated with lightweight males showed similar levels of reproduction to those mated with heavyweight males. The results provide an indication of the importance of male and female body weight for sexual selection in Asopinae stink bugs.
Instituto Federal Goiano, Campus Urutaí, Rodovia Geraldo Silva Nascimento, Fazenda Palmital, CEP 75790-000, Urutaí, GO, Brazil.
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AIA
Pereira
Departamento de Entomologia, Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, Rodovia MG 424, Km 65, CEP 35701-970, Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil.
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RB
Silva
Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Avenida PH Holfs, Centro, CEP 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
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WS
Tavares
Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia Agrícola, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo - USP, Avenida Pádua Dias, 11, CEP 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
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JB
Malaquias
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, Campus Universitário, CEP 36570-000, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
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JC
Zanuncio
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction