Leisnham: Relationship between male head size & mating opp in Hemideina maori

Leisnham, P. T., & Jamieson, I. G. (2004). Relationship between male head size and mating opportunity in the harem-defence, polygynous tree weta Hemideina maori (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae). New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 28(1), 49-54. (3 copies)

Objectives of study were to determine whether males with larger heads have access to great #s of females, and whether male head size has an effect on male survival and longevity. Results suggested that small males intermittently retreat to small cracks or cavities within tor columns, where there are unlikely to be large female groups. So, larger males had access to more females than smaller males. Larger males also had no detectable disadvantage in terms of daily survival and longevity. Evidence that larger male tree weta do associate with larger harems in the wild.