Kis Apolló-lepkék (Parnassius mnemosyne) termete, kora és párzási dugójának típusa közötti kapcsolat

Abstract

Competition for mating between males is present in the majority of animal species. One outcome of this is the attempted monopolisation of females by guarding. Males may either keep close to their mates during the mating season or produce a plug whilst mating, blocking the female copulatory orifice. Plugs can be found e.g. in rodents, spiders and insects, and may be surrounded by a large external shield, e.g. in Apollo butterflies (Parnassius, Papilionidae). In insects, larger females often incur better reproductive success. If this is true for species producing mating plugs, the extent of male investment in the plug could be influenced by the expected female reproductive value, which might be estimated based on female size.