Male potency inCulicoides melleus(Coq.) (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae)

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Abstract
Potency in the male Culicoides melleus (Coq.) has been investigated by direct counts of spermatozoa liberated from spermatophores removed forcibly during copulation. At the first copulation, virgin males 12–24 h old transferred a mean (± s.d.) of 1156±210 sperm to the females. In a series of copulations in immediate succession (with a fresh virgin female at each mating in the series), the numbers of sperm transferred declined progressively to a mean of 72±88 at the seventh copulation. The percentage fertility was recorded in first egg batches oviposited naturally by females that partnered individual males at one of the copulations in an immediately successive series. Fertility remained essentially unchanged at its highest level (62–66%) for the first three copulations. It then declined through copulations 4, 5 and 6, and reached zero at the seventh copulation and beyond. The minimum number of sperm required to ensure full fertility in the first egg batch appeared to be about 600. Limited recovery of potency was exhibited by males mated three times in immediate succession, then kept 24 h and mated again.