Mate choosiness in young male fruit flies

Mate choice by males has been documented in many taxa including fruit flies (Drosophila spp.). It is still unclear, however, whether male mate choice varies much with age and one cannot readily predict the direction of change in male choosiness with age. We compared mate choice in young (1 day old) and mature (4 days old) male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Young males spent much less time courting heterospecific females than did mature …