Journal
JOURNAL OF INSECT BEHAVIOR
Volume 16, Issue 3, Pages 361-370Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1023/A:1024876009281
Keywords
courtship feeding; male investment; potential reproductive rate; sexual selection; spermatophore
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Males of diverse insect species provide females with nuptial gifts, and limits on males' ability to produce these gifts may influence courtship behavior and mating systems. In the firefly Photinus ignitus, males transfer a complex spermatophore to females during mating. We provided firefly males unlimited access to responsive females to examine whether spermatophore production limits male mating success. Male spermatophore mass decreased significantly across sequential matings, and the percentage of successful matings declined during the second half of each male's life span. Male body mass explained a significant proportion of variation in size of the first spermatophore produced by P. ignitus males, but this relationship disappeared with second spermatophores. This study indicates that males' ability to produce spermatophores declines over their lifetime and that limits on nuptial gift production can constrain male mating success in Photinus fireflies.
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