Alternative mating tactics and aggressive male interactions in Mnais nawai Yamamoto (Zygoptera: Calopterygidae)

Two forms of M. nawai males occur in the study area, viz. the orange wing (f. nawai) and the pale orange wing (f. sahoi). The nawai males defend a territory and copulate with females that appear in their territory, while sahoi males are non-territorial and sneak matings with females that are ovipositing in a territory. Observations of aggressive behaviour among the males suggest that the non-territorial sahoi relinguish in fights with the territorial nawai, perhaps because they adopt other alternative mating tactics (e.g. sneaking). The frequencies of copulations observed for nawai and sahoi were 35 and 12, respectively. The ratio of these frequencies to population size of each of the 2 motphs was not significant. Therefore, the reproductive success of sahoi males is influenced by the female oviposition condition. The pre- and post-copulatory mating tactics of both nawai and sahoi males are discussed.