Viability and fertility of hybrid New Zealand tree wētā Hemideina spp. (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae)

By

Mckean, Natasha E.
Trewick, Steven A.
Griffin, Melissa J.
Dowle, Eddy J.
Morgan-Richards, Mary

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018-6-29

Original Publication

Journal of orthoptera research : JOR

Volume

27

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

97--106

Subjects

Haldane’s rule , Hybridization , Introgression , sexual exclusion , Wolbachia

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Philadelphia, Penn Orthopterists' Society 1992-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.27.14963

 

Abstract

Natural hybridization between species provides an opportunity to study the mechanisms that maintain independent lineages and may help us understand the process of speciation. The New Zealand tree wētā speciesHemideinathoracicaproduces F1hybrids where it lives in sympatry with two closely related species:HemideinacrassidensandHemideinatrewicki. This study looked at the viability and fertility of F1hybrid wētā betweenH.thoracicaandH.crassidensthat were collected from the wild and kept in captivity. The hybrids appeared to have normal viability from the late juvenile stage, with all male wētā maturing at a late instar. Male F1hybrids displayed normal mating behavior and one male produced offspring in captivity. In contrast to Haldane’s rule, female F1hybrids appeared to be infertile; they refused to mate and did not produce eggs. No evidence ofWolbachiainfection was identified in any of the three North IslandHemideinaspecies.