Genetically determined color polymorphisms have a long history in the study of evolutionary change acting on populations. The Odonata exhibit relatively high levels of sex-specific color polymorphisms in mature adults. In Ischnura and Coenagrion, female-specific polymorphisms are known to be controlled by Mendelian genes. Nearly half of Enallagma species have polymorphic females, but the inheritance…
In sexual conflict, males are often thought to gain fitness benefits from harassing females over mating. Yet when harassment itself incurs costs to males and if alternative, receptive females are available in a local population, theory predicts that when confronted with a female refusal, a male’s choice of persisting or retreating is determined in part by the likelihood of achieving a mating.