Lateralized Movements during the Mating Behavior, Which Are Associated with Sex and Sexual Experience, Increase the Mating Success in Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Lateralization in mating behavior seems to be a common feature among insects, including some pest species. The poultry pest, Alphitobius diaperinus, has a mating behavior and success that is affected by the interplay between its sexual identity and sexual experience. Although it is expected that the directionality of the displacement (i.e., lateralization and non-lateralization) during the mating display affects the mating success in A. diaperinus, it is unknown whether this is the case. In the present study, we evaluated how lateralized and non-lateralized movements of A. diaperinus adults affect mate success in relation to the sex and sexual experience of the mating pairs. The study highlights the impact of lateralization in mating behavior and the superior skills of experienced males to achieve mating success, which seems to be related to beetle learning. Our study addresses the importance of learning in improving beetle fitness and contributes to the growing understanding of lateralized behavior on insect mating behavior. This finding enhances our comprehension of these pests, potentially contributing to the eventual mitigation of their infestation within the poultry facility. ABSTRACT: In the present study, we explored the effects of displacement directionality in mating behavior (i.e., lateralized and non-lateralized movements) on mating success (i.e., copulation occurs) and efficiency (i.e., time length at which copulation is achieved), and its association with sex and sexual experience in A. diaperinus. To do so, we carried out mating experiments and recorded the behavior of the mating pair during the whole mating sequence (i.e., precopulatory and copulatory phases). During the precopulatory phase, independently of sex and sexual experience, all beetles performed non-lateralized (i.e., backside or frontside) approaches; however, only sexually experienced beetles showed lateralized approaches (i.e., right-side and left-side). Notably, experienced males exhibited greater mating success than virgin males. After the approach, both virgin and experienced males displayed lateralized and non-lateralized mounts on the females with distinct mating success. Regardless of their sexual experience, 100% of successful mating attempts were achieved when males mounted from the females’ right side. Furthermore, the development of lateralized approaches and mounts reduces the time of mating sequence span compared with non-lateralized behaviors. We highlight the importance of lateralization in mating behavior and sexual experience to achieve higher mating success, addressing a potential learning ability of beetles based on experience.