The Effects of the sphragis on male and female genitalia in Acraea (Nymphalidae) butterflies

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon L Summers ◽  
Akito Y Kawahara ◽  
Ana P. S. Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Storage Organ ◽  
Mating Plug ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Comparison And Analysis ◽  
Imagej Software ◽  
Sexually Antagonistic Coevolution

Male mating plugs have been used in many species to prevent female re-mating and sperm competition. One of the most extreme examples of a mating plug is the sphragis, which is a large, complex and externalized plug found only in butterflies. This structure is found in many species in the genus Acraea (Nymphalidae) and provides an opportunity for investigation of the effects of the sphragis on the morphology of the genitalia, which is poorly understood. This study aims to understand morphological interspecific variation in the genitalia of Acraea butterflies. Using specimens from museum collections, abdomen dissections were conducted on 19 species of Acraea: 9 sphragis bearing and 10 non-sphragis bearing species. Genitalia imaging was performed for easier comparison and analysis and measurements of genitalia structures was done using ImageJ software. Some distinguishing morphological features in the females were found. The most obvious difference is the larger and more externalized copulatory opening in sphragis bearing species, with varying degrees of external projections. Females of the sphragis bearing species also tend to have a shorter ductus (the structure that connects the copulatory opening with the sperm storage organ) than those without the sphragis. These differences may be due to a sexually antagonistic coevolution between the males and females, where the females evolve larger and more difficult to plug copulatory openings and the males attempt to prevent re-mating with the sphragis.

Biochemical variants in the study of multiple insemination in Culex pipiens L. (Diptera, Culicidae)

1976 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 683-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Bullini ◽  
M. Coluzzi ◽  
A. P. Bianchi Bullini
Keyword(s):  
Latent Period ◽  
Culex Pipiens ◽  
Accessory Gland ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Mating Plug

AbstractA new approach to the study of multiple insemination in mosquitoes or other organisms involving the use of electrophoretic enzyme variants is described. Data obtained on Culex pipiens L. with this technique confirm the basic monogamy of the species and suggest that multiple insemination may occur almost exclusively within 48 h after the first mating. Two independent mechanisms are probably acting in preventing multiple insemination. The first, probably the formation of a mucoid mating plug during the first copulation, allows the fertilisation of a further 10% of eggs by the second male in double inseminations; the second, the accessory gland pheromone (matrone), after an initial latent period, totally prevents a second insemination for the duration of the mosquito's life.

A mating plug in a squid? Sneaker spermatophores can block the female sperm-storage organ in Doryteuthis plei

Zoology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 130 ◽  
pp. 47-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiza O. Saad ◽  
Thomas Schwaha ◽  
Stephan Handschuh ◽  
Andreas Wanninger ◽  
José E.A.R. Marian
Keyword(s):  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Storage Organ ◽  
Mating Plug

scholarly journals Ovarian activation in Melipona quadrifasciata queens triggered by mating plug stimulation (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

Apidologie ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel A.R. Melo ◽  
Maria Luisa T. Buschini ◽  
Lucio A.O. Campos
Keyword(s):  
Mating Plug ◽  
Melipona Quadrifasciata ◽  
Ovarian Activation

scholarly journals Control of mating plug expelling and sperm storage in Drosophila: A gynandromorph- and mutation-based dissection

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-311
Author(s):  
János Szabad ◽  
Jing Peng ◽  
Eric Kubli
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Ventral Nerve Cord ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Female Sterility ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Thoracic Region ◽  
Mating Plug ◽  
Egg Deposition ◽  
Storage Organs ◽  
Reproductive Apparatus

Introduction In this study, we analyzed gynandromorphs with female terminalia, to dissect mating-related female behaviors in Drosophila. Materials and methods We used gynandromorphs, experimentally modified wild-type (Oregon-R) females, and mutant females that lacked different components of the female reproductive apparatus. Results Many of the gynandromorphs mated but did not expel the mating plug (MP). Some of these – with thousands of sperm in the uterus – failed to take up sperm into the storage organs. There were gynandromorphs that stored plenty of sperm but failed to release them to fertilize eggs. Expelling the MP, sperm uptake into the storage organs, and the release of stored sperm along egg production are separate steps occurring during Drosophila female fertility. Cuticle landmarks of the gynandromorphs revealed that while the nerve foci that control MP expelling and also those that control sperm uptake reside in the abdominal, the sperm release foci derive from the thoracic region of the blastoderm. Discussion and conclusion The gynandromorph study is confirmed by analyses of (a) mutations that cause female sterility: Fs(3)Avar (preventing egg deposition), Tm2gs (removing germline cells), and iab-4DB (eliminating gonad formation) and (b) by experimentally manipulated wild-type females: decapitated or cut through ventral nerve cord.

On the new monotypic wolf spider genus Ovia gen. nov. (Araneae: Lycosidae, Lycosinae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4221 (3) ◽  
pp. 366 ◽  
Author(s):  
PRADEEP M. SANKARAN ◽  
JOBI J. MALAMEL ◽  
POTHALIL A. SEBASTIAN
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Current Distribution ◽  
Type Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
Apical Process ◽  
Mating Plug ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
A Current

A new monotypic wolf spider genus, Ovia gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate a misplaced species: Pardosa procurva Yu & Song, 1988. Ovia procurva comb. nov. is redescribed, illustrated and designated as the type species for the genus. The subfamily placement of the new genus is discussed and it is considered as a member of Lycosinae Sundevall, 1833 and possibly closely related to Alopecosa Simon, 1885. The presence of an apical process (spur) on the median apophysis is proposed as the putative synapomorphy of Ovia gen. nov. The possible sister-taxon relationship of Ovia gen. nov. with Alopecosa is discussed and evidence on the occurrence of sexual dimorphism and mating plug within the genus are presented. Ovia gen. nov. is assumed to be of Holarctic origin, from which it has migrated to the Indomalayan region. Additionally, a current distribution map for the genus is provided. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document