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Variation in Weight, Size, and Sex Ratio of Coccinellid Adults (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

B. C. Smith
B. C. Smith
Affiliation:
Research Institute, Research Branch, Canada Department of Agriculture, Belleville, Ontario
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Abstract

The weight and size of coccinellid adults varied with species, sex, and feeding. Intraspecies variation in weight was generally similar in the eight species studied. Females were more variable than males in body size. Females of some species were heavier and larger than males, and species can be classified on a basis of difference in the weight and size of the sexes.

An increase in the food supply after a period of food scarcity affected the sex ratio, as the minimum food requirement of females was greater than males. Females increased in weight more rapidly than males after feeding. The availability of food in the field affected the weight and size of some species. Adult water content was influenced by feeding but not by sex or the quantity of food given to the larva.

Males were more abundant in species with small sexual differences in weight and size. The degree of difference in weight and size between males and females may be used as a criterion to select species that are best adapted to survive when food is scarce.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 98 , Issue 6 , June 1966 , pp. 639 - 644
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1966

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References

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