SPERM UTILIZATION FOLLOWING MULTIPLE INSEMINATION IN THE WASP DAHLBOMINUS FUSCIPENNIS

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Abstract
Females of the haplo-diploid hymenopteron D. fuscipennis inseminated successively by different males at intervals between matings of 1 day and longer produced daughters 3/4 of which were sired by the 1st male and 1/4 by the 2nd male. At shorter intervals between matings, when the 1st male was a mutant, the same proportions of the daughters were sired by the 1st and 2nd male, but when the 1st male was wild type a smaller proportion of the daughters was sired by the 1st (wild) male. At intervals of less than 12 hours mutant spermatozoa were more successful than wild spermatozoa in fertilizing the eggs. Although the total number of phenotypically different daughters of doubly inseminated females was rather closely related to the number of different spermatozoa stored in the female''s spermatheca, at the longer intervals between matings spermatozoa already in the spermatheca took precedence over spermatozoa from subsequent inseminations in fertilizing the 1st half of the eggs laid. The different spermatozoa appeared to be uniformly mixed only after about half of the eggs were laid. The findings are discussed with reference to the structure of the spermatheca and their significance in sperm competition.

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