Male antenna morphology and its effect on scramble competition in false garden mantids

Anuradhi Jayaweera, Katherine L. Barry

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Well-developed antennae are crucial for many insects, but especially for scramble competitors, who race to find their mates using female sex cues. In these systems, the ability of males to locate females quickly is thought to be under strong selection. A rarely tested assumption is that males with more sensory structures are able to locate females faster. In the present study, we used the false garden mantid Pseudomantis albofimbriata to investigate male antennal morphology and its effect on male efficiency in finding a mate. We used scanning electron microscopy to describe the major sensilla types and their arrangement along the length of male antennae. We also conducted field enclosure trials relating male antennal morphology to scramble competition in this system. We identified six different types of antennal sensilla (cheatic, trichoid, basiconic, grooved peg, ceolocapitular and campaniform) on male P. albofimbriata antennae. As expected, males who had more trichoid sensilla located females quicker than did males with fewer sensilla. Results of the current study suggest that antenna morphology plays a significant role in mate location and hence scramble competition in the P. albofimbriata mating system.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number75
    Pages (from-to)1-9
    Number of pages9
    JournalDie Naturwissenschaften
    Volume104
    Issue number9-10
    Early online date23 Aug 2017
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2017

    Keywords

    • male morphology
    • mate location
    • praying mantid
    • sensilla

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