MALE bush crickets give their offspring a healthy start by adding a dose of
vitamins to their sperm, according to biologists in Germany.
Klaus-Gerhard Heller of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and his
colleagues have found high levels of vitamin-like substances called carotenoids
in bundles of sperm from male bush crickets (Ephippiger zelleri). Bush
cricket eggs are loaded with the same compounds, which are important for
successful development.
The researchers suggest that females might also benefit from the male’s
nutritional gift (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, vol 267, p 1455).
Bush crickets are the first animal known to…
