Remating by Gypsy Moths (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Mated with F1-Sterile Males as a Function of Sperm Within the Spermatheca

The relationship between sperm content of the spermatheca and the propensity to remate was studied in females of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.). Females were mated with nonirradiated or F1-sterile males. The quantity of sperm in the spermatheca of females that remated was compared with that of females that did not remate. Nearly all females that received less than a full complement of sperm remated regardless of type of male involved in the first mating. The propensity of females with a full complement of sperm to remate depended on male type. Seventy percent of the females with a full complement of sperm from F1-sterile males remated, or >4-fold the percentage of females remating after receiving similar quantities of sperm from nonirradiated males. Such remating disparity in nature may impede the chance of eradicating gypsy moth populations by releasing F1-sterile males.