Non-genetic benefits of mate choice: fecundity enhancement and sexy sons

I compared reproductive success (lifetime number of fertilized eggs) as a function of mate choice among females of the stink bug,Nezara viridulaL. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). ‘Choosing’ (C) females were placed with one of two males on alternate days. CI females chose between inexperienced males while CR females chose between males previously rejected by CI females. ‘Non-choosing’ (N) females were placed with the same male every day. Non-choosing NI, NR and NA females encountered, respectively, inexperienced males, previously rejected males, or previously accepted and mated males. Reproductive success was highest for CI females, showing direct selection on mate preferences. Reproductive success did not differ between CR and NR females, indicating that male quality, not the act of choosing a mate, affects fitness. CI females preferred males with longer antennae and their fecundity (lifetime number of eggs) was correlated with male antenna length, consistent with antenna length as an indicator of male ability to transfer nutritive sperm produced in paired harlequin lobes of the testes. Harlequin lobes were smaller in rejected than chosen males. In second-generation mate choice trials, sons of NR females competed well against sons of NA females but not against sons of CI females. This suggests that non-genetic paternal contributions that decline with prior mating account for the attractiveness of sons because sons of CI and NA females shared the same fathers. Sons experiencing mating success came from larger eggs and egg size was greatest for CI females, perhaps as a consequence of paternal nutritional contributions.