Male Remating Success and the Frequency of Copulatory Plugs in the Green Lynx Spider Peucetia viridans (Araneae, Oxyopidae)
Peucetia viridans males were allowed to mate with three virgin females and most matings resulted in live spiderlings, even when males lacked palpal paracymbial processes. Among females, the presence of copulatory plugs was inconsistent, and when present, their condition was not uniform; broken-off m...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2010-01-01
|
| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/602897 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Peucetia viridans males were allowed to mate with three virgin females and most
matings resulted in live spiderlings, even when males lacked palpal paracymbial
processes. Among females, the presence of copulatory plugs was inconsistent, and
when present, their condition was not uniform; broken-off male paracymbia were often
found in epigynal orifices. There was no size effect in a male's ability to completely
plug a female's genital orifices, as well as no significant change in the pattern of plug production over consecutive mating trials. Among mated, field-collected females, the
presence of plugs and paracymbia was variable, with females from some sites
possessing neither structure. Field-collected females with no plugs were in significantly
better condition than those with two plugs and in nearly significantly better condition
than those with two paracymbia. Females in the best condition may excel at resisting
the emplacement of genital obstructions and/or voiding such structures, potentially
enabling them to mate with multiple males. Enhanced prey access mediated by
increased water availability may be why females at two sites were in relatively better
condition. If plugs help prevent sperm desiccation in inseminated females, this may
have contributed to the absence of plugs from females at these two moister sites. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |