The effect of a seasonal time constraint on development time, body size, condition, and morph determination in the horned beetle Allomyrina dichotoma L. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Abstract.  1. In horned beetles selection favours males that adjust their investment in horn development in relation to cues that predict adult body size. Here it is shown that in the Japanese horned beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma . There is a significant discontinuity in the horn length body size allometry. This can be described as a linear relationship that is shifted towards an increased horn length to body length ratio in males with horns longer than 16 mm.
2. Larval nutrition explains morph determination in A. dichotoma . However, unlike other species, variation in larval nutrition was the result of a seasonal time constraint that limits the time available for feeding prior to the onset of winter diapause.
3. Even when eggs were reared with an ad libitum food supply, minor morphs were still observed. Individuals that were oviposited later in the season had less time to feed, shorter development times, eclosed as smaller individuals and, in the case of males, were more likely to be hornless. Major morphs, minor morphs, and females all reduced their body size in response to seasonal time constraints in the same way. However, males that were laid later in the season had faster development times than females laid at the same time, but showed no reduction in their size relative to females, suggesting seasonal time constraints increase growth rates in males but not in females.
4. No evidence was found that seasonal time constraints resulted in a reduction of size-corrected fat reserves at eclosion, or that minor morphs gained any developmental advantage by reducing investment in horn length.