Hydration benefits to courtship feeding in crickets

The spermatophore transferred by male decorated crickets;Gryllodes sigillat us) at mating includes a large gelatinous spermatophylax that the female co nsumes after copulation. Although previous studies have shown that G. sigil latus females gain no nutritional benefits from consuming food gifts, there may be other benefits to their consumption. We examined potential hydratio n benefits to females by experimentally manipulating both the availability of water and the number of food gifts that females consumed, and by measuri ng their effect on female fitness. Analysis of the number of nymphs produce d by females revealed a significant interaction between the number of sperm atophylaxes consumed and water availability. When spermatophylaxes were not provided, females given water ad libitum produced significantly more nymph s than females subjected to water stress. Female longevity was significantl y affected by water availability with an increase in the availability of wa ter corresponding to a significant increase in female longevity. These data suggest that female G. sigillatus accrue fitness benefits by consuming spe rmatophylaxes when alternative sources of water are unavailable. In additio n, females appear to allocate water contained in spermatophylaxes towards r eproduction as opposed to survival.