Male larval nutrition influences the reproductive success of both sexes of the Spruce Budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract

Summary 1.It has recently been demonstrated that the species of host plant used by males during larval development may significantly affect the reproductive success of both sexes in a polygophagous tortricid, Choristoneura rosaceana (Delisle & Bouchard 1995). In the present study, using the Spruce Budworm, C. fumiferana, the hypothesis was tested that in oligophagous species, similar effects would result from within-species variability in foliage quality. 2. It was demonstrated that male larval diet (young and old Balsam Fir foliage (YF vs OF) or artificial diet (AD)) significantly influences the reproductive success of both sexes of C. fumiferana. 3. Male body size and spermatophore size were positively correlated, with AD > YF > OF; however, males fed on YF had better mating success than those on OF and AD, indicating that size may not always be a good estimate of male quality. 4. The propensity of females to resume calling (CA + ) and remate (RM + ) was significantly lower, and the length of the refractory period longer, following first mating with high (YF) rather than low (OF and AD) male quality. 5. Females that resumed calling (CA + ) had a lower reproductive output than those that did not (CA -), with the effect being more pronounced following mating with males fed on low (OF and AD) rather than high (YF) quality diet. A similar trend was observed in the proportion of females that were unsuccessfully mated, as shown by their low incidence of fertility (<25%). In contrast to their reproductive output, females that resumed calling lived as long as those that did not, regardless of male larval diet. However, the resumption of calling was also observed in a large number of highly fertile (48%) females, indicating that infertility was not the only reason for the resumption of sexual receptivity. 6. Females that remated (RM + ) following an initial mating with low quality males (OF and AD) had fecundities and longevities similar to those that did not (RM -). However, their incidence of fertility was significantly higher. In contrast, females that remated following an initial mating with high quality males (YF) were more fecund and lived slightly longer than those that did not (RM -). A similar pattern was observed with females initially mated with OF and AD males, if only individuals with high fertility following first mating were considered in the analyses. 7. Male larval diet had no effect on fecundity, percentage fertility and longevity in females that remained refractory following their first mating. 8. The first mating occurred earlier in the night and lasted longer than the second, with both variables being independent of the diet of the first mate. This may explain why overall the proportion of females that remated was lower than that for females that resumed calling following mating.

Larval food limitation in butterflies: effects on adult resource allocation and fitness

“…For example, in Choristoneura rosaceana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), female fecundity was affected by the plant species fed on by their male mate and by whether the mating was the first or second by the male (Delisle and Bouchard 1995). Likewise, female likelihood of re-mating was higher in C. fumiferana for females mated to males with a poor quality diet but fed the same plant species (Delisle and Hardy 1997), although female fecundity and survival were unaffected by male dietary treatment for those females that did not re-mate. In contrast, male body size (presumably affected by both genetics and environment) and previous number of matings had no effect on female fecundity or survival in Zeiraphera canadensis (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) (Carroll 1994).…”

“…Our understanding is more or less limited to the observation that a reduction in larval food quality or quantity generally results in reduced adult body size and fat content with consequent negative effects on fecundity (e.g., Scriber and Slansky 1981;Fischer and Fiedler 2001;Ernsting et al 1992;Awmack and Leather 2002), or on male reproductive success (e.g., Carroll 1994;Delisle and Hardy 1997). While extremely useful, this information does not yet provide insight into the organization of allocation as a whole within any one holometabolous organism, or the integrated suites of adult life history and morphological traits that result.…”

Food stress sensitivity and flight performance across phosphoglucose isomerase enzyme genotypes in the sooty copper butterfly

“…Many animals are often faced with transient periods of food shortage during development, reducing body size and/or growth rates (Berrigan and Charnov 1994;Arendt 1997;Blanckenhorn 1999). Such negative effects of food stress on body size may considerably reduce fitness through a concomitant reduction in, e.g., survival, mating success or fecundity (e.g., Roff 1992;Carroll 1994;Delisle and Hardy 1997;Bauerfeind and Fischer 2005).…”

Indirect host-mediated effects of an exotic phloem-sap feeder on a native defoliator of balsam fir

“…The impact we observed of gout on female pupal weight, therefore, is likely to correspond to reduced fitness and reduced growth rate of budworm populations. Reduced pupal weight in males may also impact fitness: smaller males have lower mating success (Delisle and Hardy, 1997), perhaps because they cannot maintain the flight activity necessary to locate mates (Silk and Kuenen, 1988;Rhainds and Brodersen, 2012). The higher sensitivity of male versus female pupal mass to gout may reflect a tradeoff between optimal body size and emergence time that improves male mating success under stressful conditions by ensuring males emerge before females, as in other insects (Teder and Tammaru, 2005;Gibbs et al, 2006).…”