Perceived mate availability does not influence variation in egg-laying patterns in the Hawaiian Pacific field cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Abstract Females may adjust how many eggs they lay over the course of their lifetime ( i.e ., their egg-laying pattern) to bias their investment into either current or future reproduction. Using mate availability cues to bias reproductive investment could ensure that females obtain the benefits of multiple mating when future mate availability is high or low. We studied whether perceived mate availability influenced egg-laying patterns in Teleogryllus oceanicus Le Guillou (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), the Pacific field cricket, and whether variation in those patterns affected females’ future egg-laying or total reproductive output. On hearing the male calling song to simulate high mate availability, females did not alter their egg-laying patterns relative to females that did not hear the song. The lack of influence of perceived mate availability on egg-laying patterns is noteworthy because this treatment affects many other aspects of this species’ reproductive investment. Neither investing highly in current versus future egg-laying nor having a highly variable egg-laying pattern appeared to be costly in this species. Despite consistent conditions and sufficient resources for females during the experiment, our fine-scale study of egg-laying patterns highlights the variability that exists in these patterns, and we speculate on some factors that may drive this variation.