Inheritance of sex ratio in the Kanzawa spider mite,Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida

1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akio Takafuji ◽  
Toshio Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Spider Mite ◽  
Tetranychus Kanzawai

Effects of phytoseiid predators on the sex ratio of the spider mite Panonychus ulmi

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 208-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan L. Johnson ◽  
Heather C. Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Spider Mite ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Panonychus Ulmi ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Male Mortality ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Biased Sex Ratio ◽  
Male Activity

The effect of predator presence on the adult sex ratio of a spider mite (Panonychus ulmi) was examined in a field experiment. Phytoseiid predators (chiefly Typhlodromus occidentalis) were removed from 32 trees harboring P. ulmi populations, and allowed to remain at natural levels on 32 other trees. Both total population density and proportion of males in the prey population were significantly higher in predator-free trees. Mechanisms that could explain the increase in the proportion of males are examined. The most probable is that greater male activity results in a higher encounter rate between predator and prey, and that subsequent higher male mortality when predators are present exaggerates the female-biased sex ratio. The theoretical effects of sex-biased predation on diplo-diploid and haplo-diploid organisms are discussed.

scholarly journals Sex allocation in haplodiploids is mediated by egg size: evidence in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1708) ◽  
pp. 1054-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Macke ◽  
Sara Magalhães ◽  
Hong Do-Thi Khan ◽  
Anthony Luciano ◽  
Adrien Frantz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Tetranychus Urticae ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Spider Mite ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
External Fertilization ◽  
Offspring Sex Ratio ◽  
Egg Provisioning

Haplodiploid species display extraordinary sex ratios. However, a differential investment in male and female offspring might also be achieved by a differential provisioning of eggs, as observed in birds and lizards. We investigated this hypothesis in the haplodiploid spider mite Tetranychus urticae , which displays highly female-biased sex ratios. We show that egg size significantly determines not only larval size, juvenile survival and adult size, but also fertilization probability, as in marine invertebrates with external fertilization, so that female (fertilized) eggs are significantly larger than male (unfertilized) eggs. Moreover, females with on average larger eggs before fertilization produce a more female-biased sex ratio afterwards. Egg size thus mediates sex-specific egg provisioning, sex and offspring sex ratio. Finally, sex-specific egg provisioning has another major consequence: male eggs produced by mated mothers are smaller than male eggs produced by virgins, and this size difference persists in adults. Virgin females might thus have a (male) fitness advantage over mated females.

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