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Research has been conducted on the polyandry, multiple mating by females. The hypothesis that the increased viability among offspring and the associated fitness can reduce parasitism has been tested in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and the results indicate that genetic viability is effective because the intensity of the common parasite Crithida bombi decreased with the increasing colony heterogeneity levels.

The mode of inheritance of polyandry was studied in the laboratory in Spodoptera exigua Hubner, the beet army worm. Polyandry in S. exigua is a polygenic, autosomal heritable trait. Additive genetic variance is available for selection for female mating frequency.

Copulating with multiple mates has been found to enhance female fecundity in the bruchid beetle, but not egg-to-adult survival. This survival may depend on genetic compatibility of males and females, as it is more variable when females copulate multiply with different males and less variable when they copulate multiply with the same male. Polyandry in the species under consideration does not apparently reduce risk of embryo failure coming from fertilization by genetically incompatible sperm.

A microsatellite DNA study of multiple paternity in the leafcutter ant Atta colombica is discussed. Results confirm earlier nongentic sudies which found high levels of multiple mating by queens in higher leafcutter ants. These results are related to known patterns of paternity and polyandry in other eusocial Hymenoptera.

Recent studies have reported high frequency of multiple mating by females in many animal species (see e.g., Smith [1984] and references therein; Birkhead and Moller 1992). However, the mechanism by [...]

Research has been conducted on multiple mating by female yellow dung flies. The effect of maternal mating on offspring fitness has been investigated in order to study the difference between mating effects and potential genetic benefits of polyandry, and the role of maternal environment in offspring fitness has been studied and discussed.

Research has been conducted on free-living female polyandry levels. The authors report the results of the experiment aimed at assessing long-term indirect genetic benefits of polyandry in crickets.