01580nas a2200169   4500008004600000245011900046210006900165520101700234653001301251653001101264653001501275653001701290653001001307100002401317700002401341856004501365       Submitted                   eng d     00aFlight behaviour attenuates the trade-off between flight capability and reproduction in a wing polymorphic cricket0 aFlight behaviour attenuates the tradeoff between flight capabili3 aFlight-dimorphic insects have been used extensively to study trade-offs between energetically costly traits. Individuals may develop and maintain structures required for flight, or alternatively they may invest in reproduction. Previous experiments have not examined whether flight itself might affect investment into reproduction. As in other Gryllus species, flight-capable individuals of the wing polymorphic cricket, Gryllus texensis, incur an apparent reproductive penalty for being able to fly, expressed as smaller ovaries in females and lower courtship propensity in males, than their flight-incapable counterparts. We find that a short bout of flight eliminates the trade-off. Two days after the flight, the ovaries of flight-capable females were comparable with those of short-winged females. Similarly, flight markedly increased the probability of courtship behaviour. Our results suggest that the impact of the flight–reproduction trade-off described in earlier studies may have been overestimated.10acrickets10aflight10aorthoptera10apolymorphism10awings1 aGuerra, Patrick, A.1 aPollack, Gerald, S.  uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0570