Mechanisms of Sperm Transfer in Female Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Tschudi-Rein, Kathrin; Benz, G.

doi:10.1093/aesa/83.6.1158

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

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“…The shape and the size of eupyrene and apyrene sperm of swallowtail butterflies were reported for the first time by Tsukaguchi and Kurotsu (1922), and thereafter the polymorphic sperm types of many lepidopteran insects were confirmed by several investigators (Tschudi-Rein and Benz 1990;Gage 1994;Watanabe et al 1998a). The two types of sperm, fertile eupyrene sperm and shorter, thinner, nonfertile apyrene sperm, are behaviorally and morphologically distinct (Silberglied et al 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Eupyrene sperm migrates to spermatheca after apyrene sperm in the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Watanabe

Bon’no

Hachisuka

2000

Journal of Ethology

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When swallowtail butterflies, Papilio xuthus, are mated by the hand-pairing method, both types of sperm, eupyrene and apyrene sperm, are transferred from the male to the spermatheca via the spermatophore in the bursa copulatrix. This mechanism is demonstrated by two different kinds of experiments. The first set of experiments employed interrupted copulation, and the second set was examination of the sperm in the spermatophore and spermatheca after the termination of copulation. The sperm was transferred 30 min after the start of copulation. The eupyrene sperm was still in the bundle; the number of the bundles ranged from 9 to 108 (mean, 42.7; n ϭ 27). The bundles were gradually released after the completion of copulation, and the free eupyrene spermatozoa then remained in the spermatophore at least 2 h before migrating to the spermatheca. On the other hand, about 160 000 apyrene spermatozoa were transferred to the spermatophore and remained there for more than 1 h. We observed 11 000 apyrene spermatozoa in the spermatheca 12 h after the completion of copulation, but most of this type of sperm disappeared shortly thereafter. In contrast, the eupyrene sperm arrived in the spermatheca more than 1 day after the completion of copulation and remained there at least 1 week. Therefore, these findings suggest that apyrene sperm migrate from the spermatophore to the spermatheca earlier than eupyrene sperm. Accordingly, if females mated multiply, the time difference might avoid the mixing of sperm. In addition, the predominance of sperm from the last mating session may occur not in the bursa copulatrix but in the spermatheca.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Eupyrene sperm migrates to spermatheca after apyrene sperm in the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Watanabe

Bon’no

Hachisuka

2000

Journal of Ethology

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“…We knew from dissection of females killed at intervals after onset of copulation that at 7.5 hr deposition of the male's spermatophore into the female's bursa is complete, and sperm begin appearing in the female's sperm-storage chamber (spermatheca). For anesthesia, the females were manually disengaged from the males and transferred for 2-3 hr to a small receptacle flushed with a stream of CO2 (n = 8 females) or N2 (n = 8 females), treatments which in other inseminated insects are known to inhibit muscle action without blocking the sperm's undulatory motions (14,15 Fig. 1 that in twice-mated Utetheisa there is sperm precedence: in all but 2 cases there was a principal sire, a male that sired significantly more than 50%o of the offspring [G statistic (16)] (the male siring less than 50% of offspring is henceforth called the nonprincipal sire).…”

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confidence: 99%

Postcopulatory sexual selection in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix).

LaMunyon

Eisner

1993

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

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The offspring of twice-mated female Utetheisa ornatrix show low incidence of mixed paternity. In Utetheisa the spermatophore also provides the female with defensive pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA), derived by the male from its larval food plant (legumes of the genus Crotalaria). The female bestows alkaloidal gifts that she thus receives from males, together with intrinsic PA that she herself has sequestered as a larva, on the eggs (3, 4). Eggs are protected against predators as a result (4, 5). We here address questions concerning the paternity of Utetheisa offspring. Specifically, we ask whether males, given that they must on average "share" females with other males, have assurance offathering at least some offspring with each mating. Is there sperm mixing in Utetheisa, and as a consequence multiple fathering of offspring? Or is there sperm precedence [that is, exclusive or nearly exclusive siring by one inseminator at the expense of another (6)] with the result that males could at times "lose out" in matings? We mated individual female Utetheisa to two males, ascertained paternity of their progeny by use of enzymatic markers, and looked into whether specific parameters (male mass, male PA content, parental age, between-mating interval, duration of copulation) were determinants ofoffspring paternity. We also experimented with females in an attempt to shed light on the mechanism by which sperm achieve differential success in multiple matings. MATERIALS AND METHODSWe reared Utetheisa in the laboratory (from stock collected near Lake Placid, Highlands County, FL), as previously described (7). PA-free Utetheisa were reared on a pinto bean-based diet (PB diet), devoid of PA. PA-laden Utetheisa were reared on another diet (CS diet), consisting of PB diet supplemented with seeds of Crotalaria spectabilis, a natural food plant of Utetheisa, containing the PA monocrotaline.A total of 53 virgin Utetheisa females, alkaloid-free (PB diet-raised) and of known age, were each mated with 2 virgin males, also of known age. The matings were effected by pairing the sexes overnight in screened cylindrical containers (0.35-liter volume). Male age was recorded as the period in days since eclosion from the pupa (range 1-8 days). Female age was the period from eclosion to second mating (range 2-11 days). The interval in days between the two matings was recorded for each female (range 1-4 days). These periods fall within range of the first third of the life-span of Utetheisa (adults of both sexes live approximately 1 month in the laboratory).With one subsample of females (Exp. 1; n = 21 females), the pairings were respectively with one alkaloid-free male (PB diet-raised) and one alkaloid-laden male (CS diet-raised).

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“…Thus, signa allow the female to gain access to the nutritious and hormonal resources contained in the spermatophore (Galicia et al 2008). Previous studies also support the idea that the main function of signa is to break the spermatophore envelope (Rogers and Wells 1984;Tschudi-Rein and Benz 1990). 1 These results led us to pose two questions: (1) why do males transfer spermatophores whose envelope requires a sharp or acute device to be broken?…”

Section: Sexual Coevolution Of Signa and Spermatophore Envelopesmentioning

confidence: 77%

Sexual Selection Within the Female Genitalia in Lepidoptera

Cordero

Baixeras

2015

Cryptic Female Choice in Arthropods

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The genitalia of male and female Lepidoptera are complex organs, composed of several structures that exhibit great diversity of shapes, sizes, and positions, suggesting that they have evolved in a relatively rapid and divergent way. In this chapter, we explore the selective pressures responsible for the evolution of genital morphology in the Lepidoptera, emphasizing the possible role of post-copulatory intersexual selection (PCIS) mechanisms (cryptic female choice and sexual conflict). Our exploration is in great extent speculative because knowledge on the functional morphology of genitalia in this group is limited. We start by describing the complexity and diversity of genitalia in Lepidoptera, discussing the available information about the role of the different structures in copulation. Then, we discuss possible ways in which PCIS and other types of selective pressures could have influenced the evolution of genitalia by developing illustrative hypothesis for several structures whose function is not well understood. Finally, we describe in detail recent experimental and comparative studies aimed at understanding the function and selective pressures responsible for the evolution of a female genital trait known as signum.

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Mechanisms of Sperm Transfer in Female Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

Cited by 38 publications

References 0 publications

Eupyrene sperm migrates to spermatheca after apyrene sperm in the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Eupyrene sperm migrates to spermatheca after apyrene sperm in the swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus L. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Postcopulatory sexual selection in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix).

Sexual Selection Within the Female Genitalia in Lepidoptera

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