Lekking males aggregate to attract females and contribute solely to egg fer- tilization, without any further parental care. Evolutionary theory therefore predicts them to be nonchoosy toward their mates, because any l...Lekking males aggregate to attract females and contribute solely to egg fer- tilization, without any further parental care. Evolutionary theory therefore predicts them to be nonchoosy toward their mates, because any lost mating opportunities would out- weigh the benefits associated with such preferences. Nevertheless, due to time costs, the production of energetically costly sexual displays, and potential sperm limitation, the mat- ing effort of lekking males is often considerable. These factors, combined with the fact that many females of varying quality are likely to visit leks, could favor the evolution of male mate preferences. Here, we show that males of the lekking lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, were indeed more likely to mate with heavier females in choice experiments, even at their virgin mating （i.e., when their reproductive resources have not yet been depleted by previous matings）. This differential female mating success could not be attributed to female behavior as heavy and light females showed similar motivation to mate （i.e., la- tency to approach the males） and time to copulate. Males seem to benefit from mating with heavier females, as fecundity positively correlated with female mass. This new em- pirical evidence shows that male mate choice may have been tmderestimated in lekking species展开更多
The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was ...The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was lethal if spores entered the insect hemocel.We observed melanin deposition in the insect cuticle and walls of air bags,while the invading fungus interrupted tssue continuity.We have shown colonization of muscles,air bags,and finally colonization and complete destruction of the fat body-the main organ responsible for the synthesis of defense molecules in response to infection.This destruction was probably not caused by simple fungal growth,because the fat body was not destroyed during colonization with a human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans.This may mean that the infecting fungus is able to destroy actively the insect's fat body as part of its virulence mechanism.Finally,we were unable to reduce the extremely high virulence of B.bassiana against G.mellonella by priming of larvae with thermally inactivated fungal spores.展开更多
文摘Lekking males aggregate to attract females and contribute solely to egg fer- tilization, without any further parental care. Evolutionary theory therefore predicts them to be nonchoosy toward their mates, because any lost mating opportunities would out- weigh the benefits associated with such preferences. Nevertheless, due to time costs, the production of energetically costly sexual displays, and potential sperm limitation, the mat- ing effort of lekking males is often considerable. These factors, combined with the fact that many females of varying quality are likely to visit leks, could favor the evolution of male mate preferences. Here, we show that males of the lekking lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, were indeed more likely to mate with heavier females in choice experiments, even at their virgin mating （i.e., when their reproductive resources have not yet been depleted by previous matings）. This differential female mating success could not be attributed to female behavior as heavy and light females showed similar motivation to mate （i.e., la- tency to approach the males） and time to copulate. Males seem to benefit from mating with heavier females, as fecundity positively correlated with female mass. This new em- pirical evidence shows that male mate choice may have been tmderestimated in lekking species
文摘The filamentous fungus Beauveria bassiana is a natural pathogen of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella.Infection with this fungus triggered systemic immune response in G.mellonella;nevertheless,the infection was lethal if spores entered the insect hemocel.We observed melanin deposition in the insect cuticle and walls of air bags,while the invading fungus interrupted tssue continuity.We have shown colonization of muscles,air bags,and finally colonization and complete destruction of the fat body-the main organ responsible for the synthesis of defense molecules in response to infection.This destruction was probably not caused by simple fungal growth,because the fat body was not destroyed during colonization with a human opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans.This may mean that the infecting fungus is able to destroy actively the insect's fat body as part of its virulence mechanism.Finally,we were unable to reduce the extremely high virulence of B.bassiana against G.mellonella by priming of larvae with thermally inactivated fungal spores.
