Egg production in multiple-mated females of the meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) under laboratory conditions

The egg production of multiply-mated females of the colour-polymorphic meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) was investigated under laboratory conditions. A total of 2249 eggs obtained from 17 Mendelian genetic crosses was analysed. Females were allowed to mate up to six times at regular intervals. Mating frequency was categorised into four groups according to mating order. Total egg numbers were statistically analysed and compared between the four mating groups. Overall egg production per pairing (median=112) in P . spumarius females was relatively high. However, median egg numbers did not differ significantly among females that mated two, three, four and five times with different males (Kruskal-Wallis Test: H=4.97, df=3, P=0.17). Conversely, females mated with two different males produced significantly more eggs (median=140) than females (median=71) mated with three different males (MannWhitney U-Test: P=0.03). This study represents one of the few experimental investigations of polyandry in this cercopid insect and the results indicate that polyandry does not significantly increase egg production under laboratory conditions. However, this behaviour may substantially increase genetic variability, thereby providing raw material for evolutionary processes in natural populations of P . spumarius widely distributed across diverse habitats.