Effect of Mating Status and Age on the Male Mate Choice and Mating Competency in the Common Bed Bug,Cimex lectularius(Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

2016 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 1333-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desen Wang ◽  
Changlu Wang ◽  
Narinderpal Singh ◽  
Richard Cooper ◽  
Chen Zha ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Kaufmann ◽  
Oliver Otti

Abstract Mate choice is often a role assigned to females. Already Darwin realised that males are eager to copulate, and females are choosy. However, male mate choice is not as rare as assumed. Males should choose females if females vary in quality, i.e., fecundity. Indeed, males often choose larger mates and through this preference increase fitness benefits. In addition, if mating costs reduce the number of copulations a male can potentially perform, he should be choosy. Bedbug females vary in their fecundity and female size is positively related to fecundity. Male bedbugs are limited in seminal fluid availability and, hence, the number of consecutive matings they can perform. Traumatic insemination gives males full control over mating, therefore low female mating resistance could further allow males to be choosy. Here, using mate choice arenas, we investigated if male bedbugs prefer to mate with large females. We observed mating behaviour and measured female fecundity to investigate potential male fitness benefits. Males chose to mate with large females 1.8 times more often than small females and large females laid significantly more eggs than small females. Our study provides first evidence for male mate choice based on female body size in bedbugs and males can increase their fitness by mating large females. It has to be further established if male mate choice is driven by mating costs in terms of ejaculate investment and if such male mate choice based on female size could be a driver of sexual size dimorphism in bedbugs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Domínguez-Castanedo ◽  
Tessy M. Muñoz-Campos ◽  
Stefano Valdesalici ◽  
Sharon Valdez-Carbajal ◽  
Carlos Passos

Author(s):  
Raymond Berry

AbstractThe bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., is a common ectoparasite found to live among its vertebrate hosts. Antennal segments in bugs are critical for sensing multiple cues in the environment for survival. To determine whether the thermo receptors of bed bugs are located on their antennae; innovative bioassays were created to observe the choice between heated and unheated stimuli and to characterize the response of bugs to a heat source. Additionally, the effect of complete antenectomized segments on heat detection were evaluated. Heat, carbon dioxide, and moisture are cues that are found to activate bed bug behavior; a temperature at 38°C was used to assess the direction/degree at which the insect reacts to the change in distance from said stimulus. Using a lightweight spherical ball suspended by air through a vacuum tube, bed bugs and other insects are able to move in 360° while on a stationary point. Noldus EthoVision XT was used to capture video images and to track the bed bugs during 5-min bioassays. A bioassay was created using four Petri dish arenas to observe bed bug attraction to heat based on antennae segments at 40°C. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of heat on complete antenectomized segments of the antennae. The results in this experiment suggest that bed bugs detect and are attracted to heat modulated by nutritional status. Learning the involvement of antennae segments in heat detection will help identify the location and role of thermoreceptors for bed bug host interaction.


Evolution ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1465-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Lyu ◽  
Maria R. Servedio ◽  
Huw Lloyd ◽  
Yue-Hua Sun

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 643-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Krupa

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