Behavioral and Morphological Studies of the Membranous Tergal Structure of Male Blattella germanica (Blattodea: Ectobiidae) During Courtship

The male German cockroach Blattella germanica (L.) exhibits a characteristic courtship display by raising its wings, turning around, and exposing its tergal glands on the seventh and eighth tergites to the female. The male secretes a courtship pheromone from the tergal glands which induces a strong feeding response in the female, facilitating copulation. Upon multiple, detailed microscopic observations of the courtship display, we found that the male markedly expanded the intersegmental area between the sixth and seventh tergites, but deflated this area as soon as it perceived a tactile stimulus on its back by the female, while continuing to raise its wings and exposing the tergal glands. The intersegmental area is composed of two parts: a membranous posterior part of the sixth tergite, and the regular intertergal membrane. The membranous posterior part was found to be crescentic in shape and clearly separated from the intertergal membrane by traverse tongue-shaped plates. Scanning electron microscopic observation revealed that there were many orifices or pores in the membranous crescentic zone, and its morphological structure was clearly different from that of the intertergal membrane. Our observations suggest that the crescentic zone is likely a secretory gland that may play an important role at the beginning of the male courtship display, different from the tergal glands.

Revision of the genera Cyphonethes Verhoeff, 1926 and Titanethes Schioedte, 1849 (Isopoda: Oniscoidea: Trichoniscidae) with a description of a new genus and three new taxa

A taxonomic study of two troglobite genera resulted in remarkable changes to their composition and our perception of their relationship. The genus Titanethes is treated as monotypic, with one newly described taxon, Titanethes albus matovici n. ssp. One species is transferred from Titanethes to the genus Cyphonethes, Cyphonethes biseriatus (Verhoeff, 1900) comb. nov. A species and a genus are synonymized, Microtitanethes licodrensis syn. nov. The diagnosis of the genus Cyphonethes is amended and revised using comparative morphology of adult males. A new species, Cyphonethes tajanus n. sp, is described. A close relationship between the genera Titanethes and Spelaeonethes is established. Cetinjella monasetrii n. g., n. sp, is described as a new genus and species close to the genus Cyphonethes. It is assumed to be a higropetric cave inhabitant, based on its pereopode structure, with elongated fused dactylus and unguis, and partly by its slightly modified mouthparts. Unique water uptake (for the water conducting system) by the dorsal surface of the frontal pereionite is also assumed for the species, based on the presence, distribution and orientation of specific small scales. The presence and structure of male tergal glands in the genus Tithanethes are treated as taxonomically irrelevant.

Completely preserved cockroaches of the family Mesoblattinidae from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (Liaoning Province, NE China)

Although cockroaches were the dominant insects in various Paleozoic and Mesozoic insect assemblages, their general morphology was extremely conservative. One of the most common of them, the Jurassic-Cretaceous family Mesoblattinidae, is described here for the first time on the basis of completely preserved specimens. Ninety-two specimens of Perlucipecta aurea gen. et sp. n. reveal details of head, mandible, male tergal glands and terminal hook; cercal, leg and antennal sensilla. Its congener, P. vrsanskyi is described from the same sediments of the Yixian Formation (Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous). The forewing venation variability of P. aurea, analysed for the first time in this family is nearly identical (CV = 6.23 %) with variability of two species of family Blattulidae that occur at the same locality (CV = 6.22 %; 5.72 %). The transitional nature of morphological characters represented by asymmetry between left and right wings (simple/branched forewing SC and hind wing M) in P. aurea documents the phylogenetic relation between the families Mesoblattinidae and Ectobiidae

The Tergal Gland Secretion of the Two Rare Myrmecophilous SpeciesZyras collarisandZ. haworthi(Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and the Effect onLasius fuliginosus

The beetle speciesZyras collarisandZ. haworthibelong to the rove beetle tribe Myrmedoniini (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), which comprises many myrmecophilous species. Due to their rareness, it is unknown how the two species interact with their host ants. GC-MS analyses revealed that both species releaseα-pinene,β-pinene, myrcene and limonene from their defensive tergal glands. This composition of tergal gland secretion is unique within the subfamily Aleocharinae. In biotests,Lasius fuliginosusants showed increased antennation towards filter paper balls treated with mixtures of these substances in natural concentrations. Because these monoterpenes are also present in some aphid species which are attended by ants, we hypothesize thatZyrasbeetles mimic the presence of aphids and thereby achieve acceptance by their host ants.

Advanced morphology and behaviour of extinct earwig-like cockroaches (Blattida: Fuziidae fam. nov.)

Advanced morphology and behaviour of extinct earwig-like cockroaches (Blattida: Fuziidae fam. nov.)We describe the extinct cockroach family Fuziidae fam. nov., represented byFuzia dadaogen. et sp. nov. from the ?Bathonian (168 Ma) Middle Jurassic sediments of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Males are characterized by unique, long and narrow bodies with a notch on forceps of earwig-like cerci, which attaches to the long external ovipositor during courtship. In a combination with the presence of male tergal glands, it appears the most advanced form of reproduction in the nearly 300 Myr history of long external ovipositor-bearing cockroaches. Its advanced morphology significantly supports attribution of living and fossil cockroaches within a single order Blattida.

Comparative analyses of the abdominal tergal glands in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Queens

The acceptance of a new queen in a colony is related to the maintenance of workers court in its surroundings, and for that make up, queens use pheromones produced in its mandibular and in the tergal glands. This study evaluated possible differences in the development of the unicellular tergal glands of virgin and mated queens with different ages, obtained from ovens and colonies. The older virgin and older mated queens had the most developed tergal glands, while queens obtained from colonies had more developed tergal glands than queens reared in ovens.