Postcopulatory song as a mate-guarding tactic in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus

Males can bias insemination and fertilization in their favour by guarding females. In some species, males physically constrain females, while in others, female movement is not as directly controlled. In the Pacific field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus, some males produce the same calling song used in long-distance mate attraction after spermatophore transfer, even though they cannot mate again. We tested the idea that this postcopulatory song serves as a mate-guarding tactic. Females that heard postcopulatory song were more likely to stay close to the male and retain their spermatophore, thus increasing the likelihood of the male fertilizing their clutch. To our knowledge, our results provide the first evidence of postcopulatory song in T. oceanicus and suggest that it may be an effective mate-guarding tactic. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.