Transfer of Male Secretions to Females through Copulation in Menida scotti(Heteroptera:Pentatomidae)

Abstract

The possibility of male Menida scotti (PUTON) donating their secretions to females through copulation was investigated. When adults of both sexes were reared in a jar, the volume of bursa of spermathecal duct (bursa) in the females increased, whereas the volumes of both the bulbus ejaculatorius and the reservoir of the ectodermal accessory gland (reservoir of the ectadene) in the males decreased. Isolation of the copulated females from males caused a significant decrease in the volume of bursa. Virgin females and males showed no changes in the volume of these reproductive organs. In the copulated females, spermatozoa were not observed in the bursa but only in the spermathecal bulb under microscopic examination. The volume of the bursa in the females showed a significant positive correlation with the total copulation time. In contrast, the volume of the bulbus ejaculatorius and of the reservoir of the ectadene in males exhibited a significant negative correlation with the total copulation time. Very high radioactivity in the bursa was detected in a female which had copulated with a male injected with [¹⁴C]isoleucine. These results show clearly that the males donate the secretions stored in the bulbus ejaculatorius and the ectodermal accessory gland secretions to the bursa of the females, and suggest that the females digest them.