Females parasitoids are classified as pro-ovigenic and synovigenic based on the fraction of the egg complement mature at emergence. We propose a similar terminology for male parasitoids. Males with their full complement of spermatozoa available at emergence can be termed prospermatogenic while those that mature spermatozoa during their lifetime are termed synspermatogenic. At the emergence, Trichogramma evanescens males, a quasi-gregarious egg parasitoid of several Lepidoptera, have a complement of 1614.3 ± 224.1 spermatozoa. When provided with virgin females, males can fertilize 10.8 ± 1.3 females. At each mating, males transfer about 100 spermatozoa and each female stores 47.5 ± 13.7 spermatozoa. After seven matings, males have 942.1 ± 237.9 spermatozoa left and this number does not increase after 24 hours. These results suggest that males Trichogramma evanescens can be considered as pro-spermatogenic; they have their full complement of spermatozoa at emergence and do not produce spermatozoa during their lifetime.
Species 1: hymenoptera trichogrammatidae trichogramma trichogramma evanescens
Keywords: reproductive strategy, sperm
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