Mate-avoiding behaviour in females of the small copper, lycaena phlaeas daimio Seitz : Lepidoptera:Lycaenidae

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Other Title
  • ベニシジミ雌の交尾回避行動
  • ベニシジミ メス ノ コウビ カイヒ コウドウ

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Description

Observations on sexual behaviour of the small copper, Lycaena phlaeas daimio Seitz were performed at Fukuoka in June and July from 1974 to 1977. The mating behaviour was initiated with approaching to females in flight by males which left off resting or feeding. The males, however, usually failed in successful mating because the females exhibited some mate-avoiding behaviour. The main types of the mate-avoiding behaviour were "fluttering-walk" (walking accompanied with fluttering wings) and rapid flying-away, the former being exhibited most frequently not only by impregnated females but virgin ones. The fluttering-walk seemed to have no function as a sign-stimulus to prevent males from copulation but a merely mechanical effect. It was only three cases out of 164 occasions observed that males successfully copulated with females. These females exhibited fluttering-walk before they became receptive attitude, and then the males copulated without any specialized courtship display except for the pursuit of females with wings half-opened. When virgin females reared in laboratory were presented in front of perching males, females less than three days old avoided copulation more frequently than those three or four days old. The similarity between pre-mating behaviour and mate-avoiding behaviour in butterflies was pointed out, and a breaf discussion was presented, i. e., it was probably impossible that the mate-avoiding behaviour could have evolved as a sign-stimulus.

Journal

  • Lepidoptera Science

    Lepidoptera Science 29 (3), 129-138, 1978

    THE LEPIDOPTEROLOGICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN

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