Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
3 September 2018 Does size matter? Fecundity and longevity of spider mites (Tetranychusurticae) in relation to mating and food availability
Guang-Yun Li, Zhi-Qiang Zhang
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Bigger animals tend to live longer than the small ones across species, but whether body size also has a robust relationship with survival within species remains to be determined. Here, the association between body size and fitness traits was examined through two food treatments (starvation and fed ad libitum) for both virgin and mated spider mites, Tetranychus urticae. The longevity of spider mites differed significantly across treatments, with feeding ad libitum increasing the survival of both males and females, mating decreasing male survival when starved and female survival when fed ad libitum. The body size of females but not of males increased with food. For each treatment, no clear correlations between body size and longevity were found. However, female fecundity was shown to have a positive relationship with body size. These results suggested that within species, for spider mites, there is no clear association between body size and longevity, but the fecundity increased with the body size, although this association is weak.

© Systematic & Applied Acarology Society
Guang-Yun Li and Zhi-Qiang Zhang "Does size matter? Fecundity and longevity of spider mites (Tetranychusurticae) in relation to mating and food availability," Systematic and Applied Acarology 23(9), 1796-1808, (3 September 2018). https://doi.org/10.11158/saa.23.9.6
Received: 6 July 2018; Accepted: 26 August 2018; Published: 3 September 2018
KEYWORDS
body size
fecundity
food availability
longevity
mating status
starvation tolerance
Back to Top