Differential Male Mating Success in the White Spotted Sawyer Monochamus scutellatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Abstract

Field and laboratory observations of the white spotted sawyer Monochamus scutellatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) showed that males differ widely in ability to maintain pair-bonds. There was a significant quadratic relationship between the number of ovipositions during a pair-bond and pair-bond duration, suggesting that there may be a disproportionate payoff in reproductive success to males able to maintain long pair-bonds. Females were receptive for a single day and then oviposited alone for a number of days; therefore, males should be expected to outnumber receptive females at a breeding site on any given day even if the sex ratio among adults is 1:1.