Females of the red damselfly Mnesarete pudica are attracted to more ornamented males and attract rival males.

Abstract

Male calopterygid damselflies often exhibit colourful wings used during aggressive contests and courtship displays. Evidence suggests that male wing coloration is a secondary sexual character assessed by males and females to identify male quality. In some species, males adopt a lekking strategy, where females visit exhibition arenas and choose the best mate. Here, we addressed whether the behaviour of Mnesarete pudica males is influenced by female visitation when gathering in leks. We hypothesized that female visitation would increase male investment in courtship and fighting, while reducing patrolling flights and harassment attempts. Moreover, we tested the hypothesis that more ornamented males attract more females to the territory, following the hotshot model of lek evolution. Our results suggest that, indeed, males with more pigmented wings attract more visiting females, independently of male size. Our results also show that the number of females in a territory attracts more males and elicits male contest behaviour, reducing male harassment. We conclude that male ornament and male clustering is a good predictor of female visitation rates, suggesting that females may exert mate choice.