Male Lifetime Multiple Mating Potential and Reproductive Success in the Tobacco Cutworm Spodoptera litura

Jin Xu^1,2, Min-Rui Shi¹, Hong Yu¹, Luo-Yan Zhang^1,2, Peng Chen³* and Yong-He Li¹

¹Yunnan Academy of Biodiversity, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
²School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
³Yunnan Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China

*Corresponding Author: Peng Chen, Yunnan Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China.

Received: July 16, 2018; Published: July 26, 2018

Citation: Peng Chen., et al. “Male Lifetime Multiple Mating Potential and Reproductive Success in the Tobacco Cutworm Spodoptera litura". Acta Scientific Agriculture 2.8 (2018).

Abstract

  A male’s reproductive success primarily depends on the number of females he can inseminate. Multiple mating are common in males but the reproductive potential of a male is much less well understood, probably because measurements of the reproductive success of males in their entire lifespan are extremely uncommon compared to females. In the present study, therefore, we tested male lifetime multiple mating potential and reproductive output in Spodoptera litura. Results showed that males that had access to a new virgin female daily for their lifespan mated up to 8 times successfully (produced viable offspring) with the mean number of matings being 6.25 (± 0.23). Mating duration increased significantly with the increase of male mating experience. Analysis showed that male copulation history had significant effect on female fecundity and fertility. However, this effect was found only in the last mating. Therefore, the effect of male mating history on female fecundity and fertility is limited or minor in this insect. On average, a male in his lifetime fertilized 8380 (± 571) eggs.

Keywords: Spodoptera litura; Mating Duration; Multiple Mating; Lifetime Reproductive Success

Copyright: © 2018 Peng Chen., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.