Short‐and long‐term sperm precedence in the beetle Tenebrio molitor: a test of the ‘adaptive sperm removal’ hypothesis

Abstract

Abstract. Sperm removal in Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) has been proposed as an adaptation to sperm competition and has been documented when the remating interval between successive copulations is short, but not when it is long (Gage, 1992). If sperm removal is adaptive, it follows that there should be different fertilization outcomes from double matings with different remating intervals. Sperm precedence patterns were assessed using reciprocal double matings of normal and γ‐irradiated (sterile) virgin males of controlled size and age with virgin females of controlled size and age. Immediate last male sperm precedence was high whether the remating interval was short (<10 min) (P 2, = 0.89) or long (24h) (P 2 = 0.92). Sperm precedence in eggs laid in a 16‐day period after the last copulation showed no difference in the pattern of change between females with short and long remating intervals. By examining the aedeagus of males we show that sperm are removed at the end of copulation by the first and the second male to mate with a virgin female regardless of whether the remating interval is short or long. We conclude that sperm removal is unlikely to be the primary mechanism by which males gain such high levels of last male sperm precedence.