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Asymmetry of mating behaviour affects copulation success in two stored-product beetles

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Abstract

Lateralization (i.e. left–right asymmetries in the brain and behaviour) has been documented in all vertebrate classes, while evidences for invertebrates are limited. To the best of our knowledge, there is no information about behavioural asymmetries in the order Coleoptera. In this research, we investigated the lateralization of mating traits in two major pests of stored products: the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Both T. confusum and S. oryzae males showed population-level left-biased copulation approaches of potential mates. Interestingly, T. confusum and S. oryzae males performing left-biased copulation attempts achieved higher mating success over right-biased males. Furthermore, S. oryzae males periodically exhibited a typical head wagging behaviour, which consists of waving the rostrum laterally across the female thorax and then resting the rostrum on the mid thorax. This behaviour was right-biased, even in the majority of males that previously showed left-biased copulation attempts. The quantification of mating displays could allow comparisons with other strains, in order to evaluate the impact of a given host or of the rearing methods on the mating traits of S. oryzae and T. confusum. Overall, this is the first report of lateralization of mating traits in Coleoptera. Furthermore, this research adds basic knowledge to the reproductive behaviour of S. oryzae and T. confusum.

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Acknowledgments

M. Traugott and three anonymous reviewers improved an earlier version of our manuscript. We would like to thank G. Giunti for her assistance during manuscript preparation.

Funding

This research was partially supported by the H2020 Project “Submarine cultures perform long-term robotic exploration of unconventional environmental niches” (subCULTron) [640967FP7]. G. Benelli is funded by PROAPI (PRAF 2015) and University of Pisa, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Grant ID: COFIN2015_22). Funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Insect Behavior Group, Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, via del Borghetto 80, 56124, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Benelli & Angelo Canale

  2. The BioRobotics Institute, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera, 56025, Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Benelli, Donato Romano & Cesare Stefanini

  3. Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos str., 11855, Athens, Attica, Greece

    Nickolas G. Kavallieratos

  4. Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, University of Thessaly, Phytokou str., 38443, N. Ionia, Magnesia, Greece

    Christos G. Athanassiou

  5. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Khalifa University, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Cesare Stefanini

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  1. Giovanni Benelli
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  2. Donato Romano
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  4. Nickolas G. Kavallieratos
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  5. Christos G. Athanassiou
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  6. Angelo Canale
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Correspondence to Giovanni Benelli.

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Communicated by M. Traugott.

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Benelli, G., Romano, D., Stefanini, C. et al. Asymmetry of mating behaviour affects copulation success in two stored-product beetles. J Pest Sci 90, 547–556 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-016-0794-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-016-0794-z

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