Tiit Teder nicely illustrated in his latest study that nocturnal moths males are more adventurous (and more prone to dispersal) than females, while investigating their sex ratio in light traps. For the vast majority of species, significantly more males than females were attracted to the traps, and for 13 species, exclusively males were recorded. The sex ratio was significantly influenced by sexual size dimorphism – when females of a given species were significantly larger than males, the sex ratio in the traps tended to become more balanced. The moths’ lifestyle also played a role, as if the adults were feeding, the sex ratio in the traps was more balanced.
Full article here.
