MSGID: 1:317/3 64a8e693   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Spider mite males undress maturing females to win the first mating   
      
      
     Date:   
         July 7, 2023   
     Source:   
         Cell Press   
     Summary:   
         In males of many species, it pays to identify females that are   
         nearing maturity to be the first in line for mating. Now researchers   
         have found a remarkable example: male spider mites guard and then   
         actively strip off the skin of premature females that are soon to   
         molt and mature to make them accessible for mating sooner.   
      
      
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   In males of many species, it pays to identify females that are nearing   
   maturity to be the first in line for mating. Now researchers reporting   
   in the journal iScience on July 7 have found a remarkable example: male   
   spider mites guard and then actively strip off the skin of premature   
   females that are soon to molt and mature to make them accessible for   
   mating sooner.   
      
   "Our study documents an exceptional male behavior in the animal kingdom,   
   namely that male spider mites strip off the skin of premature females that   
   are close to molting into adulthood," said Peter Schausberger from the   
   University of Vienna, Austria. "Such undressing behavior by the male is   
   adaptive -- that is, it increases their reproductive success -- because   
   it would be an enormous cost to the guarding male if a rival would take   
   away the female and inseminate her instead of the male that invested   
   time and energy in guarding her. The guards would have invested hours in   
   guarding a potential future mate without any reward."  In spider mites,   
   the competition for first mating is especially intense, Schausberger   
   explained. That's because the first copulation partner of a female is   
   the one that sires all the offspring. In fact, the males only sire the   
   daughters because sons arise from unfertilized eggs. Because of this   
   intense competition to be number one, spider mite males guard premature   
   females for several hours before the females molt to the adult stage.   
      
   "For about one or two hours before molting, the females take on a silvery   
   appearance because of air filling the gap between the old skin, called   
   exuvia, and the new skin; in this phase the guarding males change their   
   behavior - - sometimes they drum with their forelegs on the females,   
   possibly to stimulate the females to initiate the molting process,   
   and make the females bulge and crack the exuvia," Schausberger said.   
      
   "Upon cracking the exuvia, the guarding male becomes highly active and   
   pulls on the hind part of the old skin with his pedipalps until it is   
   removed from the female body and the genital opening of the female,   
   which is located on the underside of the tip of her abdomen, is exposed   
   so that the male can slip beneath the female and insert his aedeagus,"   
   he continued. "Females that are undressed by a male first get rid of the   
   hind part of the old skin because of male pulling, whereas females that   
   molt without the help of a male first pull out from the front part of   
   the old skin."  Schausberger and colleagues are generally interested in   
   sexual selection in spider mites, and especially alternative reproductive   
   tactics by males, including fighting and sneaking. While observing and   
   videotaping many male-male and male-female interactions, they noticed   
   the undressing behavior they've now described in detail.   
      
   The findings offer yet another example of the fascinating behaviors that   
   are driven by sexual selection, according to the researchers. They're also   
   a reminder that even tiny arachnids have highly sophisticated behaviors.   
      
   In future work, they hope to study the undressing behavior in more   
   detail to find out whether fighting males differ from sneakers in this   
   behavior. They also want to find out what happens when males in the   
   process of undressing a female have to contend with rivals and whether   
   the undressing behavior acts as a signal to females of a male's quality.   
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Peter Schausberger, Thi Hanh Nguyen, Mustafa Altintas. Spider   
      mite males   
         undress females to secure the first mating. iScience, 2023; 107112   
         DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107112   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707111643.htm   
      
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