Multiple Mating and Its Effect on Female Reproductive Output in the Bean Bug Reptortus clavatus (Heteroptera: Alydidae)

Abstract

Multiple mating and its effects on fecundity and fertility in the female bean bug Reptortus clavatus (Thunberg) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Multiply mated females showed higher fecundity and fertility than singly mated females, suggesting that natural selection may favor multiple mating in R. clavatus females. However, females were unwilling to remate for 15—20 d after 1st mating, indicating that remating may be costly to females. Nearly 50% (24/50) of singly mated females exhausted most sperm from their seminal receptacles (spermathecae) by 28 d after beginning to oviposit and began laying infertile eggs, but their fertility recovered after remating. These results support the hypothesis that females remate to replenish an inadequate sperm supply if absence of stored sperm outweighs the cost of remating in terms of higher productivity.