This study investigated mate choice in the harlequin bug based on male color pattern. Females were given a choice between dark, medium, or brightly colored males. The number of matings, copulation duration, and courtship time for each male were recorded. Results showed females did not mate significantly more with brightly colored males. While brighter males tended to court longer, copulation duration was significantly longer for darker males when comparing just dark and bright males. Overall, female harlequin bugs did not show a strong preference for mating with brighter colored males based on this study.

1. Mate Choice for
Bright
Color
Patterns
in
the
Harlequin
Bug
(Murganita histrionica)
KATHERINE YING ZHOU1, Robert McElderry1, and Priyanga A. Amarasekare1
1 Department
of
Ecology
and
Evolutionary
Biology
WHY BOTHER TO BE BRIGHT?
• Expand the sample size and prolong the single
observation period test the significance of the trend
towards more mating with brighter colored males
• Collect field data of presence of males in each categories
and female choices.
• Investigate the relationship between male’s health
condition and its average copulation time with female.
• Determine the genetic basis and environmental factor of
the coloration of Harlequin bug.
• Alireza Aliabadi et al. (2002) Journal of Chemical Ecology 28
(9): pp. 1749-1762
• The Harlequin bug, Murganita
histrionica, has a distinguished color
pattern: red or yellowish spot on the
black body.
• Its bright coloration advertises its
distastefulness to the predator, or
known as aposematic warning.
AVERAGE FREQUENCIES OF FEMALE CHOICES
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles,
90095 USA
We would like to thank the members of the Amarasekare
Lab for assisting this project and providing support,and
Haoxiang Chen, who provides generous help in making this
poster.
ONE FEMALE: DARK/MEDIUM/BRIGHT MALES
Do female Harlequin Bugs prefer brightly
colored males when they are choosing their
mates?
COPULATION FREQUENCIES: BRIGHT > DARK SUMMARY
FUTURE RESEARCH
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• When only compare the extreme
categories, females mate with
darker colored males
significantly longer than they
mate with brighter males.
• This could indicate females do
not discriminate between
medium and bright color or
medium and dark color.
• Females do not choose to mate
with brighter colored males
significantly more than they
mate with darker males or
medium colored males.
LITERATURE CITATION
• All bugs were kept in an incubator at constant 24 Celsius degrees and
fed with cabbages under lab condition.
• We evaluated:
1. The number of times that female mate with males in dark, medium
and high color categories.
2. Different duration of one copulation of males in the three categories.
3. The total courtship time of males in the three categories.
• Therefore it is beneficial to have brighter color.
• However, it also costs energy to make pigments. Subsequently, color
may correlate with health.
• Female harlequin bugs benefit directly from males by receiving the
spermatophore from males during copulation.
• A healthier mate will be a female’s optimal choice.
• We investigated the female preference over males based on coloration
pattern, measured by the number of times they choose to mate with a
male.
• We also measured the average copulation duration and the courtship
time of each male.
Each female was housed
in a plastic box with
sufficient space, given
three males as mate
choices. Males were
categorized into dark,
medium or brightly colored
by the percentage of
colored area on their backs.
(n=10)
dark
medium
bright
female
COPULATION TIME: DARK > BRIGHT
COURTSHIP TIME: BRIGHT > DARK
• Despite the general preference for brighter males, females
also show different color preference between individuals
• Trend of males with brighter color invest more time and
energy on courtship compared to medium and dark ones.
(Not significant)
dark medium bright
Male color
MeanFrequency
0.00.51.01.52.0
dark medium bright
Male color
MeanDuration
0.00.51.01.52.02.5
Male Color
CopulationFrequencies(times)
dark medium bright
Male color
MeanCourtTime
010203040
CopulationDuration(days)
AVERAGE DURATION OF COPULATION
Figure 1. The mean
frequencies that females
choose to mate with a
male in different color
categories.
Test Types P-value
ANOVA Test 0.7
Friedman Test 0.29
• When only compare dark and
bright categories, darker males
spend significantly longer time
during single copulation.
Statistical Tests P-value
ANOVA Test 0.7
Kruskal Test 0.162
Friedman Test 0.29
Figure 2. The mean
copulation duration that
females choose to mate with
a male in different color
categories.
Male Color
Figure 3. The mean courtship
time of males in different color
categories.
Statistical Tests P-value
ANOVA Test 0.69
Kruskal Test 0.71
Friedman Test 0.69
Male Color
MeanCourtingtime(s)