在繁殖过程中,女性可以通过选择男性提供的直接物质利益来提高健康水平,比如结婚礼物。在鳞翅目中,男性提供了含有营养的精子。然而,处女雄性产生更大的精子,含有精子和营养物质,允许更高的女性生育率。因此,可以检测雄性性状况的鳞翅目雌性可能更喜欢没有先前交配经验的雄性(即处女雄性)。这种配偶选择可以通过使用化学指标来实现,如性信息素和角质层化合物,已知在繁殖过程中可能交换,并且可以是先前交配经历的指标,并且已知可能是交换信息的来源。在这项研究中,我们通过实验展示了Bobesiabotrana处女雄性和雌性,以便使它们暴露于雌性的天然性信息素或角质层化合物。男性暴露于女性性信息素或角质层化合物后12或48小时,这些雄性面对的是幼稚的雌性,他们可以在他们还是处女非暴露的男性之间做出选择。我们强调,尽管产生了相似体积的精子,所有暴露的处女雄性在暴露后12小时与雌性交配的可能性较小,而在暴露48小时后,这只是暴露于性信息素的处女男性的情况。因此,L.botrana女性可能会根据化学线索(从直接从女性转移到男性的线索,或来自角质层或信息素雄性的变化),表明过去的交配经历。仅在12小时后暴露于性信息素的雄性交配时间更长,以及仅在48小时后暴露于角质层化合物的雄性。信息素信号可能会随着时间的推移而更加持久,并且似乎更容易为男性收集信息。这个结果背后的生理推理仍然需要研究。
During reproduction, females may boost their fitness by being selective based on direct material benefits provided by the males, such as nuptial gifts. In Lepidoptera, male provides a spermatophore containing nutrients. However, virgin males produce a bigger spermatophore, containing spermatozoa and nutrients, allowing higher female fertility. Lepidoptera females that could detect the sexual status of males may thus prefer a male without previous mating experience (i.e. a virgin male). This mate selection could be achieved by the use of chemical indices, such as sexual
pheromones and cuticular compounds, known to be possibly exchanged during reproduction, and which can be indicators of a previous mating experience and known to be possibly sources of information exchanged. In this study, we experimentally presented Lobesia botrana virgin males with females in order for them to be exposed to females\' natural sexual
pheromones or cuticular compounds. 12 or 48 h after the exposure of males to either females\' sexual
pheromones or cuticular compounds, these males were confronted to naïve females, which have a choice between them or a virgin non-exposed males. We highlighted that, despite producing a spermatophore of similar volume, all exposed virgin males were less likely to mate with females 12 h after exposure, while after 48 h of exposure this is only the case for virgin males exposed to sexual pheromones. L. botrana females may thus discriminate male sexual experience based on chemical cues (either from cues transferred directly from females to males, or from changes in the cuticular or pheromone males\' profile) indicating past mating experiences. Mating duration was longer for males exposed to sexual
pheromones after 12 h only, and for males exposed to cuticular compounds after 48 h only.
Pheromones signal might be more persistent over time and seems to more easily gather information for males. The physiological reasoning behind this result still needs to be investigated.