Male mating tactics and lethal combat in the nonpollinating fig wasp Sycoscapter Australis

摘要

Fatal fights are rare in the majority of animal species but are a common component of mate competition between wingless males of some species of fig-associated wasps. We investigated fatal fighting in Sycoscapter autralis, a nonpollinating fig wasp found in the syconia (inflorescences) of the Moreton Bay Fig, Ficus m acrophylla. Overall, about 25/100 of males sustained fatal injuries during the mate competition Period. Measurement and analysis of 349 males revealed a sevenfold difference in mandible size between The largest and smallest individuals, as well as evidence for dimorphism in the mandibles, which sowed Positive allometry in relation to other body parts.