The environment influences behaviors including mate choice and other mating behaviors. In red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum), males primarily initiate sexual contact and exhibit mate choice. In general, male mate choice is based on female reproductive potential, thus males prefer virgin to non-virgin females. We hypothesize that mate choice is influenced by the social environment of the beetle. We examine whether a male’s social experience affects their mating behavior. Using a total of 60 male red flour beetles, we assigned a third to an environment with a 2:1 and another third to an environment with a 1:2 ratio of females and males. The final 20 beetles were kept in an environment of an equal ratio of males to females and served as the control. We predicted that males raised in an environment with female-biased sex ratio will exercise mate choice in contrast to those raised in a male-biased sex-ratio environment. Results will be discussed in the broader context of sexual selection.
