Markova T.O., Maslov M.V., Kanyukova E.V., Repsh N.V.
Entomologicheskoe obozrenie 2017; 96(4): 725-736
The reproductive behaviour of Molipteryx fuliginosa (Uhler) was investigated in Primorskiy Territory of Russia. From 4 to 18 repeated copulations of one female lasting from 2 to 48 hours were recorded in cages. Behaviour of females during oviposition and stages of the latter are described for the first time. The number of eggs laid between copulations varies from 1 to 13, the number of ovipositions, from 4 to 11; female fertility varies from 21 to 38 eggs. To lay their eggs in cages, female used plants and dead substrates unsuitable for larval feeding-cloth, dry branches, wooden pin. Copulation of M. fuliginosa was observed in natural conditions. The preferred mating location for M. fuliginosa in anthropogenically modified habitats and in the small-leaved riparian forests were plants of Rubus idaeus L., R. caesius L., and Rubus sp. After mating, females migrate in search of places for oviposition. Single egg clutches were found on plants, not known previously as hosts of M. fuliginosa-Solanum lycopersicum L., Carex sp., Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski, and Taraxacum officinale Wigg. The females apparently lack selectivity in the choice of place for the oviposition which is not necessarily associated with forage plants, despite their abundance and availability.
