Physiological determinants of male mating performance in aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

• Main Author: Dinah F. HALES
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science 2005-11-01
• Series: European Journal of Entomology
• Subjects: aphids; myzus persicae; sexual strategies; sperm economy; ejaculate size; male maturation; sperm availability
• Online Access: https://www.eje.cz/artkey/eje-200504-0010_Physiological_determinants_of_male_mating_performance_in_aphids_Hemiptera_Aphididae.php

When investigating sexual strategies of aphids, it is necessary to set up multiple replicates to compensate for the small number of eggs laid per female. Genetic variation among replicates can be minimised if members of the same clone are used, but problems can arise unless the participants are also physiologically equivalent. A series of experiments on Myzus persicae (Sulzer) was performed to investigate aspects of male maturation and semen transfer that should be considered in planning or interpreting experiments on aphid sexual strategies.