Eur. J. Entomol. 107 (4): 521-525, 2010 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2010.059

Pre-diapause mating and overwintering of fertilized adult females: New aspects of the life cycle of the wing-polymorphic bug Pyrrhocoris apterus (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae)

Radomír SOCHA
Biology Centre ASCR, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská 31, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;

New aspects of the life-cycle of the flightless wing-polymorphic bug Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) are described. It was found that 1.1-14.9% of the adult females of P. apterus in 11 samples collected from 4 populations in the South Bohemia had mated prior to entering diapause and their ovaries were in the pre-vitellogenic stage of development with viable sperm in their spermathecae. Some of these females successfully overwintered. The percentage of overwintering females that had been fertilized ranged from 1.1 to 7.2 % and depended on the month and year of collection. The results indicate that pre-diapause mating and overwintering of fertilized females is not unusual in populations of P. apterus in the Czech Republic and and that sperm in overwintering female survives for at least 7-8 months.

Keywords: Pre-diapause mating, fertilized females, overwintering, wing polymorphism, life cycle, firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus

Received: May 10, 2010; Revised: July 7, 2010; Accepted: July 7, 2010; Published: October 20, 2010  Show citation

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SOCHA, R. (2010). Pre-diapause mating and overwintering of fertilized adult females: New aspects of the life cycle of the wing-polymorphic bug Pyrrhocoris apterus (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae). EJE, 107(4), 521-525. doi: 10.14411/eje.2010.059
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