Male Investment in the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Impact on Female Longevity and Reproductive Performance

It is generally assumed that the cost of producing ejaculates is relatively low for males, although the decline observed in spermatophore size with repeated mating in certain lepidopteran species would suggest that this is not always the case. However, despite such observed differences in spermatophores very little research has been done to determine if female reproductive success is affected by the previous mating history of her mate. A study was undertaken, using the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, to determine the extent to which (i) male lifetime reproductive success was related to the number of mates, acquired and the actual number of times that a male mated when provided virgin females daily for a period of 10 days, (ii) spermatophore size changed with successive matings and (iii) previous male mating history affected the longevity and the reproductive performance of singly mated females