A new record of amphisexual care in an insect with exclusive paternal care: Rhynocoris tristis (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) (original) (raw)
Related papers
2000
The morphometric analysis of 78 eggs of Rhynocoris albopilosus Signoret, 1858 was carried out at laboratory (temperature 28 ± 2°C, photoperiod 12:12, relative humidity 65 ± 8%) using a stereoscopic microscope with graduation. Measurements were taken every two days, from laying to emergence. The results revealed that only the operculum and maximal widths show a significant change related to the development of the embryo. These changes were 0.47 to 0.52 mm for the operculum width and 0.59 to 0.65 mm for the maximal width. Because the embryo can be seen and described through the transparent chorion, these results make it possible to predict when nymphs will emerge.
First cases of exclusive paternal care in stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
Zoologia (Curitiba), 2010
We describe paternal care in two pentatomid bugs, Lopadusa (Lopadusa) augur Stål, 1860 and Edessa nigropunctata Berg, 1884. Field and laboratory observations showed that males remain with their eggs and early hatched nymphs, while females abandon the eggs after oviposition. Guarding males defensive behaviors towards their clutches were similar to those described for guarding females of pentatomids. Since there is no detailed information on the internal phylogeny of Pentatomidae, it is not possible to make a robust inference on whether paternal care in L. augur and E. nigropunctata has arisen independently or not. If the latter, the two new cases of paternal care we describe here represent the fifth event of independent evolution of this rare behavioral trait in Heteroptera.
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2002
was described as a species close to R. pictipes Stål, 1872 on the basis of a single female specimen. In their revision of the Triatominae, synonymized this species with R. pictipes on the basis of a photograph of the holotype of R. amazonicus. They argue that the specific characters are not convincing, or at least doubtful, and they consider this moreover partly damaged female as an abnormal specimen of R. pictipes.
Genetics and Molecular Research, 2012
We examined the course of spermatogenesis and the meiotic chromosome complements in aquatic species of true bugs, Heteroptera. The chromosome complement of the Veliidae species was 2n = 39 (38A + X0) and 23 (22A + X0) in Rhagovelia whitei and Rhagovelia sp, respectively, and in the species of the Notonectidae (Martarega sp) it was 26 (22A + 2m + XY); all collected from the region of São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil. An impressive characteristic of the first analysis was the size of the cells belonging to Martarega sp, which were six times larger than the same cells in Pentatomidae and twice as large as the cells in aquatic Heteroptera (Gerridae). Regarding spermatogenesis, all the species analyzed showed the same pattern: holocentric chromosomes and elongated spermatids with the chromatin distributed evenly along the head. The family Veliidae showed several bodies impregnated with silver nitrate at prophase, while the family Notonectidae displayed only one. The cells of Notonectidae also showed an evident and round ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 11 (3): 2003-2020 (2012) M.M.U. Castanhole et al. body until the end of prophase I and in the family Veliidae the silverimpregnated bodies were disorganized, where the only region visualized was possibly that of the NOR. In metaphase, silver-stained regions were found at the periphery of all chromosomes in Veliidae and at the periphery of some chromosomes in Notonectidae. The spermatids of Veliidae showed a less silver-impregnated vesicle, while Notonectidae showed silver staining only in part of the nuclear membrane. Therefore, families of Heteroptera have some differences and features that can help identify and classify these species.
Traumatic insemination in the plant bug genusCoridromiusSignoret (Heteroptera: Miridae)
Biology Letters, 2006
In traumatic insemination, males pierce females with hypodermic genitalia and ejaculate into the body cavity rather than into the genital tract. This has resulted in the evolution of female counter-adaptations in the form of paragenitalia to reduce the direct physical costs of mating. While rare in the animal kingdom, traumatic insemination is oddly prevalent in the true bug infraorder Cimicomorpha (Heteroptera), where it occurs in six families and is thought to have arisen twice. Here, we report the discovery of traumatic insemination and elaborate paragenital development in the plant bug genusCoridromius(Miridae), representing a third, independent emergence of traumatic insemination in this infraorder.
Traumatic insemination and female counter-adaptation in Strepsiptera (Insecta)
Scientific Reports, 2016
In a few insect groups, males pierce the female's integument with their penis during copulation to transfer sperm. This so-called traumatic insemination was previously confirmed for Strepsiptera but only in species with free-living females. The more derived endoparasitic groups (Stylopidia) were suggested to exhibit brood canal mating. Further, it was assumed that females mate once and that pheromone production ceases immediately thereafter. Here we examined Stylops ovinae to provide details of the mating behaviour within Stylopidia. By using μCT imaging of Stylops in copula, we observed traumatic insemination and not, as previously suggested, brood canal mating. The penis is inserted in an invagination of the female cephalothorax and perforates its cuticle. Further we show that female Stylops are polyandrous and that males detect the mating status of the females. Compared to other strepsipterans the copulation is distinctly prolonged. This may reduce the competition between sperm of the first mating male with sperm from others. We describe a novel paragenital organ of Stylops females, the cephalothoracic invagination, which we suggest to reduce the cost of injuries. In contrast to previous interpretations we postulate that the original mode of traumatic insemination was maintained after the transition from free-living to endoparasitic strepsipteran females. Copulation that involves the wounding of the mating partner by specialised devices is a widespread and diverse phenomenon in animals and evolved multiple times within different taxa. It occurs in nematodes, terrestrial arthropods, flatworms, rotifers, annelids, snails and slugs, and even in amphibians (for a recent review see Reinhardt et al. 1). In arthropods, this bizarre mode of copulation, termed traumatic insemination, occurs in one spider (Harpactea sadistica, Dysderidae 2) and fruit flies 3,4 , and it is prevalent and best investigated in cimicomorph bugs 5. In this megadiverse lineage with approximately 25,000 species, traumatic insemination has evolved at least three times independently. It is assumed that traumatic insemination evolved due to sperm competition as a means for males bypassing the female genital tract and sperm storage organs, and thereby circumventing pre-and postcopulatory female choice mechanisms 5. Only in Cimicomorpha, traumatic insemination is known to impose costs on the female. To mitigate these costs females have repeatedly evolved defensive paragenitalia, indicative of sexual conflict 6. The twisted winged parasites (Strepsiptera) (ca. 600 described extant species) are the second largest group of terrestrial arthropods, which are reported to inseminate traumatically 5. However, it was postulated recently that this is not the general mode of copulation in strepsipterans, but only occurs in the most basal group with free-living females. A secondary change to non-traumatic insemination in the majority of strepsipterans with permanent endoparasitic females was suggested 7. Strepsiptera are one of the most specialised insect orders. All species display extreme sexual dimorphism. The males are free living and the only purpose of their very short adult life of a few hours is to find a female to copulate. The females, with the exception of the basal Mengenillidae, and all larvae are obligatory parasites of other insects. In contrast to the males they are wingless and structurally strongly simplified, with an extremely reduced genital apparatus. The ovipositor, vagina, receptaculum seminis, genital chamber, bursa copulatrix, accessory glands and ovarioles are missing. The eggs float freely in the hemolymph. A single brood organ is present. It is not used for copulation but only for releasing the first instar larvae 8. In all remaining strepsipterans (Stylopidia),
Comparative Cytogenetics
A new species, Rhaphidosoma paganicumsp. nov. (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae: Rhaphidosomatini), is described from the Dry Zone of Myanmar. It is the fifth species of Rhaphidosoma Amyot et Serville, 1843, known from the Oriental Region, and the first record of the genus for Myanmar and Indochina. The structure of the external and internal terminalia of the male and female is described and illustrated in detail. The completely inflated endosoma is described for the first time in reduviids. The complex structure of the ductus seminis is shown; it terminates with a voluminous seminal chamber which opens with a wide secondary gonopore and may be a place where spermatophores are formed. The new species is compared with all congeners from the Oriental Region and Western Asia. It is characterised by the absence of distinct tubercles on the abdominal tergites of the male, the presence only two long tubercles and small rounded ones on the abdominal tergites VII and VI, respectively,...
University of Florida Book of Insect Records Chapter 14 Most Parental Sharing of Brood Care
2000
Shared brood care or parenting chores are rare behaviors in insects. While a number of species exhibit biparental care, including wood roaches, passalid beetles, and some bark and dung beetles, only burying beetle males (Nicrophorus orbicollis) participate in all activities, remain with the brood throughout development, and can take over all parenting responsibilities if the female disappears. In general, extended parenting by both sexes is linked to insects that use rich but ephemeral resources to provision their young.
European Journal of Entomology, 2001
The long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous) adult males of Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) from tem perate (Czech Republic) and Mediterranean (Israel) populations were analysed for the sexual activity and the functional activity of their accessory glands. The sexual activity of the males reared either under long-day (18L : 6D) or short-day (12L : 12D) conditions was determined by their capability to mate with 5-day-old reproductive females of the brachypterous morph and to fertilize the eggs. The functional activity of accessory glands was characterized by the presence of a specific immuno-marker. Sexual activity of fasting macropterous males from both temperate and Mediterranean populations was almost as high as that observed in the reproduc tive brachypterous ones. These findings were also confirmed by an immunotest. Contrary to the temperate macropterous males, the feeding arrest in temperate macropterous females was coupled with a non-diapause inhibition of reproduction in spite of long days. A similar kind of difference was observed also in the Mediterranean macropterous bugs reared under short-day conditions. The results showed the sexual difference in reproductive activity of the macropterous morph in P. apterus.