Thermal Preferences of Cowpea Seed Beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus): Effects of Sex and Nuptial Gift Transfers

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The thermal environment is crucial for organismal functioning, and many cold-blooded organisms, including insects, behaviorally regulate their body temperature. Why do insects inhabit given thermal conditions? We propose that access to water affects thermal preference and that insects with poor access to water inhabit colder environments, which reduces evaporation and preserves water. We studied the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus, which, as adults, do not drink or eat; however, males provide their mates with sperm, as well as nuptial gifts, including nutrients and water sources. We compared preferred temperatures between males and females that had access to mates or remained unmated and measured the sizes of the transferred gifts. We found that females preferred higher temperatures than males, but these preferences did not change due to mating or the transfer of larger or smaller gifts. It appears that males and females receive and lose certain amounts of water during mating, but they do not alter their thermal preferences according to the amount of water they receive or lose. ABSTRACT: The thermal environment influences insect performance, but the factors affecting insect thermal preferences are rarely studied. We studied Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles and hypothesized that thermal preferences are influenced by water balance, with individuals with limited water reserves preferring cooler habitats to reduce evaporative water loss. Adult C. maculatus, in their flightless morph, do not consume food or water, but a copulating male provides a female with a nuptial gift of ejaculate containing nutrients and water. We hypothesized that gift recipients would prefer warmer habitats than gift donors and that both sexes would plastically adjust their thermal preferences according to the size of the transferred gift. We measured the thermal preference in each sex in individuals that were mated once or were unmated. In the mated group, we measured the sizes of the nuptial gifts and calculated proportional body mass changes in each mate during copulation. Supporting the role of water balance in thermal preference, females preferred warmer habitats than males. Nevertheless, thermal preferences in either sex were not affected by mating status or gift size. It is likely that high rates of mating and gift transfers in C. maculatus living under natural conditions promoted the evolution of constitutive sex-dependent thermal preferences.