Vibrational Signals and Mating Behavior of Japanese Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

摘要

We report that male Japanese beetles produce substrate-borne vibrational signals during mating. Males produced these signals while mounted on the female, mainly before genital intromission but also during intromission and afterwards during mate guarding. Females thus likely perceive male signals as contact courtship. We also describe new details of male mating behavior, including stroking the female with the forelegs. We discuss the likely function of male signaling and stroking behavior as courtship in the context of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection.