Variation in sperm precedence during mating in male flies, Dryomyza anilis

To understand how individual differences in fertilization success arises in the fly Dryomyza anilisvariation in sperm precedence between and within males was studied. In D. anilisa mating consists of a copulation followed by tapping sequences during which the male taps the external genitalia of the female. These tapping sequences increase last male sperm precedence. Each male in the experiment was repeatedly mated with a set of females. In the first treatment, mating was interrupted after the male had an intromission. In the second treatment, the male was allowed to perform five tapping sequences after an intromission. In the third treatment, the male was allowed to perform an unlimited number of tapping sequences after an intromission until interrupted by female resistance. There were large differences between males in all three treatments as shown by the 95% confidence limits of the mean fertilization success. Repeatabilities of mating time and the number of tapping movements per tapping sequence were high indicating clear differences between males in these components of mating behaviour. Within individual males, the more tappings per sequence, the higher the fertilization success. In matings with an unlimited number of tapping sequences, fertilization success depended on female resistance. Within-male variation in fertilization success was higher in matings with an unlimited number of tapping sequences than in matings interrupted after a copulation. Several components of male mating behaviour thus contribute to the variation in sperm precedence in D. anilisFemale behaviour, in particular, resistance of tapping movements, can also increase variation in sperm precedence.