Researchers at Simon Fraser University have found that male wasps build harems of female lovers by marking them with a pheromone that wards off the competition. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Simon Fraser University - Sean McCann
January 08, 2013 - 1:00 AM
VANCOUVER - Biologists have discovered fast-flying male wasps use their smooth moves to build harems of female lovers.
In a journal article, the Simon Fraser Univesity researchers say the tiny parasitic wasps —Ooencyrtus kuvanae — lay their eggs in the eggs of the gypsy moth, and emerge looking for love.
As the insect virgins come out en masse, insect Lotharios use their antennae to tag a female's antennae with a potent pheromone.
The researchers say in the article in Behavioural Processes that this chemical substance tells other male wasps the lady is taken.
Lead researcher Kelly Ablard says male wasps tag as many females as they can and then go back to mate.
Ablard says the crafty wasp males mate with multiple females, while the females mate only once in the four- to six weeks they live.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013