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Reproductive strategies in crickets: Why do females always prefer new friends?
Crickets, especially the two-spotted field cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus), are well known for their peculiar reproductive behavior. This cricket is mainly distributed in Africa, the Mediterranean region and some Asian countries. Why do female crickets' reproductive strategies seem to rely particularly on mating with "new friends"?
Studies show that female crickets prefer males with whom they have not mated before.
First, the preference for female crickets helps avoid inbreeding, thereby increasing the survival rate of offspring. Past research has shown that when females mate with genetically similar males, the resulting offspring may have lower fitness and survival abilities. Therefore, by choosing different mating partners, female crickets can ensure that their offspring have more diverse genetics.
This strategy can improve the survival ability and ability of offspring to adapt to the environment and is a behavior of self-protection.
In addition, according to the "novice mate hypothesis," female crickets can identify the scent markings of new males through senses such as smell and choose to mate with these new partners. This behavior not only increases genetic diversity, but also improves the chances of successful fertilization. Female crickets mate with multiple males during the mating process. This type of multigamous behavior is called polyandry and is generally considered the most common form of reproduction in crickets.
After mating, the female cricket uses an organ called an egg spine to implant her eggs in moist soil. This process ensures that the eggs hatch successfully, and the baby crickets usually hatch after two weeks. It can be seen that the reproductive strategy of optimizing mate selection plays a key role in the reproduction of crickets.
The book "The Voice of Crickets" mentions that female crickets also have unique preferences for the singing of males, which affects their choice of mates.
The cricket's chirping also plays an important role in the mating process. Male crickets produce a specific call by rubbing their wings together in the hope of attracting females. In this case, both habits and the frequency of sounds may be used by female crickets as one of the criteria for choosing a mate. The study found that the characteristics of the calls are closely related to the preferences of female crickets, which is also one of the topics that scientists are concerned about.
Furthermore, in the survival behavior of crickets, competition for food and social behavior are equally important. Male crickets often fight over territory in a vigorous manner as they explore their roosting areas. This not only ensures their breeding opportunities, but also improves the flexibility of female crickets' selection to a certain extent. They will choose strong mates based on the fighting results of males.
The scientific community has begun to explore the impact of these ecological behaviors on cricket reproduction, and speculates that this is related to their genetic diversity and living environment.
Overall, the reproductive strategy of two-spot crickets has high biological adaptability. Polygamous behavior allows females to choose the best mates, thereby improving the health and survival of their offspring. In addition, through the selection of new mates, the genetic diversity of the cricket population is maintained, ultimately improving the ability of the entire species to adapt to the environment.
So, can we find similar patterns in other species for this reproductive strategy established with "new friends"?
