DIFFERENTIAL MALE MATING FREQUENCY DEPENDING ON MALE NUMBER IN THE MIGRATORY LOCUST

Experimental crosses with and without risk of sperm competition were p erformed in the locust Locusta migratoria, an orthopteran species with a certain degree of first male sperm precedence. The results showed t hat first mating males perform a significantly higher number of mating s than non-first ones, which is paralleled to a shorter remating perio d. Possible explanations of this differential male mating frequency ar e discussed in the light of current hypotheses on sexual selection the ory.