Posted by Rui Andrade on 02-02-2009 20:37
#1
I found this sepsid near cat faeces. Is it possible to say something about it?
location: Barcelos, Portugal
date: 02/02/2009
Posted by Jan Willem on 02-02-2009 22:17
#3
I agree with Stephane, must be
Sepsis punctum.
Posted by Rui Andrade on 09-02-2009 17:52
#5
Here is a video of a male trying to interrupt the mating of two sepsids of the same species:
http://www.youtub...amp;fmt=18
A photo of the mating couple:
I saw the begining of the mating and it lasted for about half an hour. I read that this species exhibits precopulatory guard but it can be absent in some populations. When I observed this I wasn't aware of this behavior, but I think that in this case the precopulatory guard didn't happen. Here is a photo a few seconds after the encounter showing, I think, the mating already happening:
According to what I read, the female lays eggs at the same time as the male is exhibiting the precopulatory behavior. My question is, given that the female is laying eggs, there must have been at least one previous mating when this didn't happen (when she was first fecundated). On this occasion, did the mating start without the precopulatory guard, or did this happen without the female laying eggs?