Mate guarding and male mate choice in the chameleon grasshopper Kosciuscola tristis (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

摘要: In the wild, male chameleon grasshoppers (Kosciuscola tristis) are frequently observed mounted on back of females even when not in copula, and will fight off other usurping males. If this behaviour is mate guarding reflects investment choice, then we expect males to preferably guard based reliable cues quality. Cues for female quality likely include size egg development that together may indicate fecundity. We investigated choice field expressed as mate-guarding preference, by comparing guarded unguarded females. found no difference between measures fecundity or body size. The majority sampled did contain any viable eggs. This finding suggests K. tristis indiscriminately a scramble mating system.