Meeting Abstract
When sexually selected weapons are polymorphic, it is often the case that one of the morphs has a large weapon, while the other is unarmed. However, recent studies in both harvestman and beetles have found the presence of multiple, distinct, weapon morphs. The maintenance of such variation suggests more complicated alternative mating strategies are at play. Here, we investigated weapon polymorphism in two leaf-footed bug (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae) species. Many species of leaf-footed bugs have enlarged, sexually dimorphic, hind legs, which they use to compete with other males over access to mates and resources. These hind legs come in a diversity of forms, even within species, making them ideal for investigating the presence of weapon polymorphisms. Using linear measurements, we found evidence to suggest the presence of weapon polymorphism in at least one species of leaf-footed bug. Body size was a poor predictor of weapon morph, which suggests that this may be a genetic polymorphism. To our knowledge, this is the first species to show evidence of weapon polymorphism without also recovering an unarmed, minor, morph.
