Increases in egg production in multiply mated female bushcrickets Leptophyes punctatissima are not due to substances in the nuptial gift

Abstract

1. A positive effect of the degree of polyandry on egg production is widespread in insects, particularly in species in which the male provides a nuptial gift. 2. This study aimed to determine whether or not this effect is due to females using nutrients from the nuptial gift (spermatophore and spermatophylax) to manufacture more eggs in the bushcricket Leptophyes punctatissima. 3. Females were permitted either a single or a double mating (with two different males) and, in both mating categories, were either prevented from consuming any part of the spermatophore or were permitted to consume the entire spermatophore. 4. Doubly mated females were found to lay over twice as many eggs over a 4-week period compared with singly mated females. This difference did not appear to be caused by the consumption of extra nuptial gift material: mating was found to have a significant positive effect on the number of eggs laid, while nuptial gift feeding had no effect.