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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Royal Society Open Science

Diapause and sperm storage underpin female migration strategies in hoverflies

  • Oliver M. Poole1
  • Antonín Hlaváček2,3
  • Andrew C. Matthews1,4
  • Marek Jankásek2
  • Radek K. Lučan2
  • Toby D. Doyle1
  • Jaimie C. Barnes1
  • Jiří Hadrava2
  • Karl R. Wotton1
4 affiliations
  1. 1Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter 1 , Penryn, UK
  2. 2Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Charles University 2 , Prague, Czech Republic
  3. 3Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Ecology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague 3 , Prague, Czech Republic
  4. 4Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter 4 , Penryn, UK
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Abstract

Sex-specific traits often involve trade-offs between survival and reproduction. The oogenesis-flight syndrome is a female-specific trait allowing energy reallocation from reproductive development towards the demands of long-distance flight. In migratory hoverflies, the effect of this energy trade-off is striking as males and females begin migration together, but males are progressively lost during the journey. Evidence from overwintering females suggests that female migrants are mated and in reproductive diapause; however, the timing of these events remains unclear. To address this, we examined female hoverflies along a latitudinal and temporal gradient during southward migration. Nearly all females were in reproductive diapause (83%) and mated (81%). While reproductive status remained constant, the proportion of mated females increased significantly as the migration period progressed. Additionally, laboratory hoverflies reared under autumn photoperiods showed a higher diapause incidence and developed larger flight muscles, but only when mated. These findings indicate that mating occurs partly during migration and further demonstrate that mating and reproductive state interact to shape energy allocation to flight machinery, providing a potential mechanistic link between reproductive status and migration capacity. Future research should explore how mating and sexual conflict shape these migratory phenotypes.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{poole2026diapause,
  title = {{Diapause and sperm storage underpin female migration strategies in hoverflies}},
  author = {Oliver M. Poole and Antonín Hlaváček and Andrew C. Matthews and Marek Jankásek and Radek K. Lučan and Toby D. Doyle and Jaimie C. Barnes and Jiří Hadrava and Karl R. Wotton},
  journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1098/rsos.260233},
  url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/9/260233/483452/Diapause-and-sperm-storage-underpin-female},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Diapause and sperm storage underpin female migration strategies in hoverflies
AU  - Oliver M. Poole
AU  - Antonín Hlaváček
AU  - Andrew C. Matthews
AU  - Marek Jankásek
AU  - Radek K. Lučan
AU  - Toby D. Doyle
AU  - Jaimie C. Barnes
AU  - Jiří Hadrava
AU  - Karl R. Wotton
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - Royal Society Open Science
DO  - 10.1098/rsos.260233
UR  - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/9/260233/483452/Diapause-and-sperm-storage-underpin-female
AB  - Sex-specific traits often involve trade-offs between survival and reproduction. The oogenesis-flight syndrome is a female-specific trait allowing energy reallocation from reproductive development towards the demands of long-distance flight. In migratory hoverflies, the effect of this energy trade-off is striking as males and females begin migration together, but males are progressively lost during the journey. Evidence from overwintering females suggests that female migrants are mated and in reproductive diapause; however, the timing of these events remains unclear. To address this, we examined female hoverflies along a latitudinal and temporal gradient during southward migration. Nearly all females were in reproductive diapause (83%) and mated (81%). While reproductive status remained constant, the proportion of mated females increased significantly as the migration period progressed. Additionally, laboratory hoverflies reared under autumn photoperiods showed a higher diapause incidence and developed larger flight muscles, but only when mated. These findings indicate that mating occurs partly during migration and further demonstrate that mating and reproductive state interact to shape energy allocation to flight machinery, providing a potential mechanistic link between reproductive status and migration capacity. Future research should explore how mating and sexual conflict shape these migratory phenotypes.
SN  - 2054-5703
ER  -