Abstract
Biogenic amines such as dopamine are physiologically neuroactive substances that affect behavioral and physiological traits in invertebrates, and it has long been known that these substances affect mating behavior in insects. Caffeine is a dopamine activator and thus enhances dopamine receptor activity. However, the effects of caffeine intake on insect mating behavior have been largely unexplored. Therefore, we examined the effect of caffeine on mating behavior in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Caffeine, which activates dopamine, affected the mating behavior of T. castaneum males. Males who orally ingested caffeine courted faster than males who did not, resulting in faster mounting of females and less time to a male's external aedeagus protrusion. However, the present results showed no difference in sperm precedence measured as a P2 value between males fed caffeine and males not fed caffeine. We discuss the effects of caffeine on insect mating and the possibility that caffeine consumption may cause males to mate with more females in the laboratory.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 45-49 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Ethology |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2021 |
Keywords
- mating latency
- mounting behavior
- number of mating
- red flour beetle
- reproductive success
- sperm competition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology