Qin Xinghu, Yang Jinshu, Ma Jingchuan, Lock Thomas Ryan, Wang Guangjun, Zhang Zehua
Institute of Plant Protection Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China.
School of Biology University of St Andrews St Andrews UK.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Aug 25;11(18):12285-12293. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6595. eCollection 2021 Sep.
Precopulatory courtship plays an essential role in the insemination process and influences postcopulatory behavior between males and females. Male precopulatory oral stimulation of female genitals is rare for invertebrates. Here, we describe an intriguing oral sexual courtship in a cryptic desert beetle Faldermann. The males repeatedly contact the female's genitals using their mouths to gain consent to mate. Furthermore, the rate at which males contact the female's genitals relates to the copulation success in a series of observations. However, interference in oral sexual contacts decreased the proportion of successful copulation. Further no-choice tests found homosexual behavior between males with antenna removed. We report the precopulatory oral sexual behavior and its important role for copulation success in for the first time. These findings highlight the significance of oral sexual courtship in sexual selection.
交配前求偶在授精过程中起着至关重要的作用，并影响着雌雄之间的交配后行为。对于无脊椎动物来说，雄性在交配前对雌性生殖器进行口部刺激的情况很少见。在此，我们描述了一种生活在隐秘环境中的沙漠甲虫——法氏隐翅虫（Faldermann）中有趣的口交求偶行为。雄性会用嘴反复接触雌性的生殖器以获得交配许可。此外，在一系列观察中，雄性接触雌性生殖器的频率与交配成功率相关。然而，对口交接触的干扰降低了成功交配的比例。进一步的无选择测试发现，去除触角的雄性之间存在同性恋行为。我们首次报道了交配前的口交行为及其对交配成功的重要作用。这些发现凸显了口交求偶在性选择中的重要性。
