Mate preference for novel partners in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

1. To benefit from the putative genetic advantages of multiple mating with multiple partners, female insects would be expected to select against mating with the same male twice when another potential partner is present. 2. This paper examined whether female Gryllus bimaculatus (Gryllidae) preferred to mate with a novel partner over a partner with which they had mated previously. 3. Females presented with a choice preferred significantly to mate with novel males over previously mated males, and preferred to do so even when the potentially confounding influence of male-male competition was controlled for. 4. The potential advantages of such a mate choice pattern and possible ways in which the choice is mediated are discussed.