Spider mite males undress females to secure the first mating

Intense mate competition favors the evolution of extraordinary mating strategies such as the ability of males to identify premature females that are close to becoming mature and associate with them until they are sexually receptive (dubbed precopulatory mate guarding). Owing to possible take-overs by rival males, precopulatory guarding is a high-risk, time-and energy-intensive strategy. Here, we provide experimental evidence that guarding spider mite males undress females by actively removing the exuvia during ecdysis to adult; females undressed by guarding males eclose faster than unguarded females. Such behavior is adaptive because it maximizes the guard's chances of being the first mate.

Automated summary

Intense mate competition leads to the evolution of extraordinary mating strategies, such as precopulatory mate guarding. It has been found that male spider mites actively undress females during ecdysis to increase their chances of being the first mate. These findings provide experimental evidence for the adaptive nature of precopulatory mate guarding behavior.