Mengyi Xu¹ , Chenxu Lou²

1 Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, China
2 College of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611800, China
Author    Correspondence author
Molecular Entomology, 2023, Vol. 14, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/me.2023.14.0004
Received: 07 Aug., 2023    Accepted: 15 Aug., 2023    Published: 22 Aug., 2023

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Xu M.Y., and Lou C.X., 2023, The correlation between reproductive behavior and population structure of holometabolous insects, Molecular Entomology, 14(4): 1-7 (doi: 10.5376/me.2023.14.0004)

Holometabolous insects are one kind of insect with special reproductive behavior. Their life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. In terms of mating, female insects usually choose the strongest males for breeding, while male insects compete for mating rights in various ways. Population structure refers to the distribution and number of individuals in a specific area, and is classified into three types: random, uniform, and clumped distribution. This review discusses the effects of reproductive behavior and population structure of holometabolous insects on their role and interactions in the ecosystem. It explains the effects of factors such as mating systems, female choice, phenotypic diversity, and niche differentiation on the population structure and number of holometabolous insects, providing multiple examples to illustrate these patterns of influence. The aim is to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the conservation and management of holometabolous insects and to provide a perspective for future research.

Holometabolous insects; Reproductive behavior; Population structure; Mating system