The primary function of adult males is mating. Males should mate early in life and possess characters imparting a competitive edge over virgins to maximize reproductive potential. Among lekking species, like many Tephritid flies, larger males possess characters favouring their selection as mates.
Mated males are much more likely to remate than virgins.
We have discovered that size is not the reason that female Caribbean fruit flies prefer young mated males. Here we show that loss of virginity enhances the sexual prowess of young males. After mating for the first time, males release twice as much sex pheromone, and they acquire another mate in less than half the time required by virgins. This is in direct opposition to female reproductive strategies of this and other species, which enter a post-reproductive period of sexual abstinence. Enhancement of sexual prowess is induced by increased juvenile hormone production after mating.