Autotomy does not reduce fitness in female Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae)

Abstract Autotomy is the phenomenon of dropping one or more limbs in response to attempted predation, injury, or entrapment. The benefits of autotomy are well established, but studies of costs to fitness have mostly been limited to species where limbs are regenerated after loss. The effects of autotomy on intrinsic survival and fecundity thus remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the impacts of autotomy on survival and fecundity in female leaf-footed cactus bugs, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae) Stål. We found that losing one or both hind legs does not reduce survival or reproductive outcomes for bugs raised in controlled environmental conditions. Therefore, female leaf-footed bugs are capable of undergoing extreme autotomy without measurable fitness costs.