Exploring lateralised courtship behaviours and their influence on mating success in the yellow peach moth Conogethes punctiferalis

The yellow peach moth, Conogethes punctiferalis, is a polyphagous pest that primarily infests maize in China. Although lateralised courtship behaviours have been observed in numerous insect species, there is still a scarcity of scientific knowledge regarding lateralised courtship and mating behaviours in C. punctiferalis. Therefore, we investigated directional approach and turning behaviours and their influence on male mating success in C. punctiferalis. Males displayed a lateralised courtship behaviour contingent on the female’s position, performing a 180° turn to achieve end-to-end genital contact. Approaching from the female’s right side consistently elicited a left-biased 180° turn, whereas left-side approaches resulted in a right-biased turn. Crucially, males exhibiting left-biased turns achieved copulation with significantly fewer attempts and a shorter latency compared to those using right-biased turns following the opposite approach. Furthermore, overall mating success was highest when males subsequently positioned themselves on the female’s right side during the encounter, with left-biased turners demonstrating a significantly greater number of successful copulations. This study provides the first documented evidence of lateralisation in the reproductive behaviour of C. punctiferalis under controlled laboratory conditions.