DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qr4
title: Data from: The oviposition of unfertilized eggs depends on the presence of potential mates in a kissing bug

description: In most species, females face the risk of losing their oocytes if they
 remain unmated for a prolonged period. However, it remains unclear whether
 they have developed mechanisms to prevent the loss of fertilizable eggs
 according to the chances of finding a mate. We predict that virgin females
 will lay a lower proportion of their produced eggs when they perceive the
 presence of a male conspecific. We tested this prediction in the kissing
 bug Rhodnius prolixus, comparing the oviposition of virgin females
 randomly exposed to the presence of a potential mate or isolation over 10
 days. We found that isolated females laid three times as many eggs as
 females exposed to the presence of a male. The dissection of females
 showed that both groups produced similar numbers of developed eggs,
 suggesting that differences in oviposition are due to changes in egg
 retention, rather than on egg production. We discuss the possible benefits
 of egg retention in virgin females, and how this process may contribute to
 their reproductive decision-making.
description: Treatments Virgin females were individually
 placed in one of the compartments of the experimental arena and then
 randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: M+, in which a male
 was present in the other compartment of the arena (n = 22); and M-, in
 which the other compartment was empty (n = 22). The transparent acrylic
 barrier separating the compartments allowed the female to perceive the
 male through visual and olfactory cues, although physical contact between
 the insects was prevented . Data analysis
 To analyze differences in the probability of laying of produced
 eggs, we used a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with a logit link
 and a binomial distribution, with the treatment (M+/M-) as the explanatory
 variable and the number of laid and retained eggs for each female as the
 dependent variable. As overdispersion in the data was detected using the
 <em>DHARMa</em> R package (Hartig 2024), we included
 observation-level random effects (OLRE) to account for it. The model was
 parameterized in R using the cbind() function, grouping the number of laid
 (successes) and retained (failures) eggs. For the study
 of the oviposition dynamics, differences in the number of laid eggs over
 time within and between treatments were analyzed. Daily oviposition data
 were grouped into four temporal intervals (days 1, 2–4, 5–7, and 8–10). 
 We used a GLMM with a repeated-measures design (RMD), with a log link and
 a Poisson distribution, with the treatment (M+/M-) and the oviposition
 days (1, 2-4, 5-7 and 8-10) as explanatory variables, the female as a
 random (intercept) variable and the number of laid eggs as a dependent
 variable. When the interaction between the main factors (treatment and
 time) was significant in the GLMM with repeated measures design (RMD), we
 analyzed the simple effects separately. Post-hoc Tukey’s tests were then
 used to compare treatments within each time interval and time intervals
 within each treatment that showed significant effects.
 Differences in the total number of eggs produced between
 treatments were analyzed using a GLM with a log link and a negative
 binomial distribution, with treatment (M+/M-) as the explanatory variable
 and the total eggs produced as the response variable.
 Additionally, to ascertain that females in both treatments had
 similar characteristics, we recorded their weight at the beginning of the
 experiment. No significant differences were found for the females’ weight
 between the treatments .The data were analyzed by means of parametric
 statistics after verification of the assumptions, i.e., normal
 distribution of residuals (Shapiro–Wilk’s test) and homogeneity of
 variances (Levene’s test). The distribution of female weights met the
 assumptions required for ANOVA. The weights of males in the M+ treatment
 followed a normal distribution.
description: # Data from: The oviposition of unfertilized eggs depends on the presence
 of potential mates in a kissing bug Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qr4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qr4) ##
 GENERAL INFORMATION 1\. Paper Citation The oviposition of unfertilized
 eggs depends on the presence of potential mates in a kissing bug 2\. Brief
 abstract Virgin female kissing bugs avoid losing their unfertilized eggs
 when potential mates are present. Differences in the oviposition dynamics
 over time were observed between females exposed to a physically
 inaccessible male and those kept in isolation. Isolated females laid
 approximately three times more eggs than those exposed to a male. The
 mechanisms underlying these results may be related to differential egg
 retention associated with female reproductive decision-making. 3\.
 Originators Franco Divito, Lorena Pompilio and Gabriel Manrique 4\.
 Contact information Franco Divito
 ([francodivito92@gmail.com](mailto:francodivito92@gmail.com); Gabriel
 Manrique ([gabo@bg.fcen.uba.ar](mailto:gabo@bg.fcen.uba.ar)) ```
 Laboratorio de Fisiología de Insectos Departamento de Biodiversidad y
 Biología Experimental Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Universidad
 de Buenos Aires Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y
 Aplicada, IBBEA, UBA-CONICET Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II, C1428EHA
 Buenos Aires ARGENTINA ``` Lorena Pompilio
 ([lopompilio@yahoo.com.ar](mailto:lopompilio@yahoo.com.ar)) Dra. Lorena
 Pompilio ``` Laboratorio de Ecología y Comportamiento Animal Departamento
 de Ecología, Genética y Evolución Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
 Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de
 Buenos Aires –IEGEBA, UBA-CONICET Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón II Buenos
 Aires (C1428EHA) ARGENTINA ``` 5\. Date of data collection From 4/4/2023
 to 5/8/2024 6\. Geographic location(s) of data collection All experiments
 were performed in Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires (coordinates:
 34°32′29″S 58°26′35″W). 7\. Information about funding sources that
 supported the collection and curation of the data Agencia Nacional de
 Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT)(grant: PICT 2018-02634)
 Universidad de Buenos Aires (grants UBACyT-20020170100571BA/
 UBACyT-20020220100108BA) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y
 Técnicas (CONICET)(grants:PIP 11220130100550CO/ PIP11220220100530CO) ##
 ACCESS INFORMATION 1\. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data No
 licenses nor restrictions were placed on the data. 2\. Data derived from
 other sources No data used in this work was derived from other sources. ##
 DATA FILES AND VARIABLES All .csv files detailed here are semi-colon
 delimited with a comma decimal. ### 1.
 Laid_over_produced_eggs_Divito_et_al__2025.csv This file contains the raw
 data used to calculate the percentage of laid over total produced eggs for
 each female. The table shows the following variables: * No_Assay: Number
 of assay performed (1 to 44). * Treatment: Treatment conducted in a
 particular assay (M- or M+). * M-: Absence of a potential mate. * M+:
 Presence of a potential mate. * Female_Weight: Weight of the female in
 milligrams (mg). * Male_Weight: Weight of the male in milligrams (mg). *
 Retained_Eggs: Number of retained eggs. * Laid_Eggs: Number of laid eggs.
 * Produced_Eggs: Number of produced eggs. * Laid_Over_Produced_Eggs:
 Proportion of laid over produced eggs (conducted to obtain the percentage
 of laid over produced eggs). ### 2.
 Laid_eggs_per_day_interval_Divito_et_al__2025.csv This file contains the
 raw data of the count of laid eggs for each female at every day interval.
 The table shows the following variables: * No_Assay: Number of assay
 performed (1 to 44). * Treatment: Treatment conducted in a particular
 assay (M- or M+). * M-: Absence of a potential mate. * M+: Presence of a
 potential mate. * Day: Day of the oviposition phase when eggs were
 counted. * Day_Interval: Temporal intervals in which the daily oviposition
 data were grouped. * Laid_Eggs: Number of laid eggs during each day
 interval. ### 3. Laid_eggs_per_day_Divito_et_al__2025.csv This file
 contains the raw data of the count of laid eggs for each female at every
 day. This data was used to determine the day intervals. The table shows
 the following variables: * No_Assay: Number of assay performed (1 to 44).
 * Treatment: Treatment conducted in a particular assay (M- or M+). * M-:
 Absence of a potential mate. * M+: Presence of a potential mate. * Day:
 Day of the oviposition phase when eggs were counted. * Laid_Eggs: Number
 of laid eggs during each day interval. ## SOFTWARE VERSIONS R Statistical
 Software (v4.2.0, R Core Team, 2022) loaded packages: * package: DHARMa
 (v0.4.7, Hartig, 2024) ## REFERENCES Hartig F. 2024. DHARMa: Residual
 Diagnostics for Hierarchical (Multi-Level / Mixed) Regression Models. R
 package version 0.4.7. URL
 [https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=DHARMa](https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=DHARMa). R Core Team (2022). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL [https://www.R-project.org/](https://www.R-project.org/).