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Observation and Quantification of Mating Behavior in the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
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Polyandry, or multiple mating, is common in insects. However, social parasite ants showed a surprising reversion to single mating, suggesting polyandry costs are specific to free-living species.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Insect sociality

Background:

  • Multiple mating (polyandry) is prevalent in insects, but its evolutionary drivers and maintenance factors remain challenging to quantify.
  • Comparing closely related species with different lifestyles can illuminate the costs and benefits of polyandry.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mating strategies of the leaf-cutting ant (Acromyrmex echinatior) and its social parasite (Acromyrmex insinuator).
  • To understand the evolutionary pressures influencing polyandry in ants by comparing a free-living species with its social parasite relative.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of mating behaviors between Acromyrmex echinatior and Acromyrmex insinuator.
  • Observation and documentation of mating frequencies in both host and parasitic ant species.

Main Results:

  • Acromyrmex echinatior queens exhibit polyandry, mating with up to a dozen males.
  • Acromyrmex insinuator queens, the social parasite, exclusively engage in single mating.
  • A rapid shift from polyandry to single mating was observed in the social parasite.

Conclusions:

  • The costs associated with polyandry appear to be specific to a free-living ecological strategy.
  • Social parasitism can lead to rapid evolutionary changes in mating behavior, such as the abandonment of polyandry.