Although the role of multiple cues in mate choice have been widely
studied, the consequences thereof for receivers remain poorly
understood, especially when there is a mismatch between cues. We address
this using the spider mite Tetranychus urticae, in which virgin females
are highly valuable mates compared to mated females, given first male
sperm precedence. We tested how the presence of females of different
mating status, and of cues they left in the substrate affected mating
behaviour as well as male costs. Male mating attempts were solely
affected by substrate cues, being more frequent on patches with cues of
virgins, while female acceptance and number of mating events were
independently affected by both female identity and substrate cues, being
higher when cues stemmed from virgins. Once copulation started, its
duration depended mainly on the mating status of the female being
fertilized, with the overall amount of time spent mating being higher in
matings with virgins than in those with mated females. Male survival
costs mirrored their investment in mating, with patches with a mismatch
between cues showing intermediate survival costs. The substrate cues
left by females are thus instrumental for males to find their mates, but
they can also lead to males paying a high survival cost while not
reaping the benefit of mating effectively, which suggest they are less
reliable but more efficient than cues on females. The benefit of using
redundant cues will then hinge upon the frequency of mismatch between
cues, which itself should vary with the dynamics of populations.