Multiple mating, lifetime fecundity and female mortality of the bruchid beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

For C. maculatus, there is no difference in lifetime fecundity between females that mate one time and females that are confined with males throughout life, but when females are mated at 48-h intervals, but are not confined with males, they lay more eggs than females which have mated only once. When females were maintained under starvation conditions, multiple mating increased female longevity, but when females had unlimited access to yeast and sugar-water, this influence disappeared. Results support the hypothesis that ejaculate-derived nutrients contribute to female somatic maintenance, but are only detectable when females are nutrient stressed. -from Author