Effects of Flight on Reproductive Development in Long-Winged Female Crickets (Velarifictorus aspersus Walker; Orthoptera: Gryllidae) with Differences in Flight Behavior

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In wing dimorphic insects, long-winged (LW) females were generally considered to be potential migrants, whereas short-winged females were considered sedentary. The aim of this research was to investigate the flight ability of LW females in the wing dimorphic crickets Velarifictorus aspersus and examine the effect of flight on ovarian development in LW females with different flight capacities. We provide the first evidence that flight ability varied among LW females, and the critical flight time for switching from flight to reproduction varied among LW V. aspersus female crickets with polymorphic flight behavior. ABSTRACT: A trade-off between the capacity for flight and reproduction has been documented extensively in wing polymorphic female insects, thereby supporting the possible fitness gain due to flightlessness. However, most of these studies were conducted without considering the effect of flight behavior. In the present study, we assessed the flight duration by long-winged (LW) females in the cricket species Velarifictorus aspersus on different days after adult emergence and examined the effect of flight on ovarian development in LW females with different flight capacities. Our results showed that the flight capacity increased with age and peaked after 5 days. In addition, the flight capacity varied among individuals, where most LW females could only take short flights (sustained flight time < 10 min) and only a few individuals could take long flights (sustained flight time > 20 min). In LW female crickets demonstrating only short flights, repeated flying for 30 or 60 min significantly promoted reproductive development. However, in those capable of long flights, reproductive development was affected only after a flight of 60 min. The flight muscles degraded after the start of rapid reproduction in those with both short and long flights. Our results indicated that the critical flight time for switching from flight to reproduction varies among LW V. aspersus female crickets with polymorphic flight behavior.