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AN UPPER BOUNDARY FOR THE SEX RATIO IN A HAPLODIPLOID INSECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

M. Mackauer
M. Mackauer
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
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Abstract

Mated females of the aphid parasite Aphidius smithi produced only unfertilized eggs (i.e. sons) for the first 2–3 h after copulation and a variable proportion of fertilized eggs (i.e. daughters) thereafter. As a result, the mean proportion of daughters among the offspring of single females was always less than unity, even in a highly favourable environment; the limiting value of the sex ratio was estimated at approximately 85% females. An argument is presented that in haplodiploid species with a variable and environmentally controlled sex ratio a male-producing mechanism is required to ensure the production of a sufficient number of males for the fertilization of all females.

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Articles
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The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 108 , Issue 12 , December 1976 , pp. 1399 - 1402
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1976

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