Vol. 50 No. 1, 2011

Evidence of Female Preference for Older Males in Drosophila bipectinata

Krishnashetty Somashekar and Mysore Siddaiah Krishna*

Drosophila Stock Center, Department of Studies in Zoology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore 570006, Karnataka State, India

Krishnashetty Somashekar and Mysore Siddaiah Krishna (2011) Male age influence on mating success was studied using 3 geographic strains of Drosophila bipectinata. When investigating 3 age classes of males, it was noted that females preferred to mate with the older of 2 males more frequently than with the younger one. A non-significant difference was also noted in the mean wing length between the selected and rejected males by females in a female-choice experiment. Old males mated faster, copulated longer, and inseminated more females in a given unit of time than did young or intermediate-aged males. Furthermore, females mated with older males had shorter lifespan compared to females mated with young and intermediate-aged males. These studies suggest that irrespective of geographic strain, D. bipectinata females prefer to mate with older males, and the older of the 2 competing males had a greater mating advantage in terms of inter-male success, mated faster, and inseminating more females in a given unit of time compared to young and intermediate-aged males. Females mating with older males lived a shorter time than females mating with young and intermediate-aged males.

Key words: Drosophila bipectinata, Female preference, Wing length, Male age.

*Correspondence: E-mail:drosokrish@gmail.com