Sperm depletion and mating behavior in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni (Hymenoptera : Pteromalidae)

Mating behavior was examined in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni. Mal es attempted copulation with both virgins and already mated females. Males attempted copulation regardless of whether they still had sperm. Already ma ted females rejected attempts to mate again but virgin females would mate w ith males regardless of whether or not they had sperm left. Males mated wit h 12-52 females before exhausting their sperm supplies. Males that had mate d only once daily exhausted their sperm supplies in their late thirties (da ys old), if ever; and males that had mated four times daily exhausted their 's at 7-13 days. Males produced as many as 438 daughters from their first f our matings. Fifty-seven percent (17 of 30) of females that had mated with virgin males exhibited a decrease in proportion of daughters with age, pres umably as a result of sperm depletion. Whether or not a female depleted her sperm supplies was not related to her size or the total number of daughter s that she had produced.