Mating Behavior of the Bronze Birch Borer, (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)2
Mating behavior of the bronze birch borer, Agrilus anxius, was investigated under laboratory and outdoor conditions. Propensity to mate was greater for beetles more than 1-d-old. Duration of copulation tended to increase with increasing beetle age; 87% of mated females were inseminated and subsequently avoided sexual contact. Males mated more than once; previously mated males copulated sooner and for longer periods of time than naive males. Mating frequency did not influence female reproductive success.
Contributor Notes
2 Salaries and research support provided by State and Federal funds appropriated to The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University. Journal Article No. 155-85.
3 Current address: BASF Corp., Agricultural Chemicals, P.O. Box 13528, 2505 Meridian Parkway, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3328.