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Histology of the spermateca and stored sperm of Tenuisvalvae notata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)
Author(s) -
Túler Amanda C.,
SilvaTorres Christian S. A.,
Teixeira Valéria W.,
Teixeira Alvaro A. C.,
Guedes Carolina A.,
D'Assunção Carolline G.,
Brayner Fábio A.,
Alves Luiz C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/phen.12242
Subject(s) - spermatheca , biology , coccinellidae , zoology , anatomy , female sperm storage , insect , sperm , ecology , sexual selection , botany , sperm competition , predator , predation
Abstract The predatory ladybird beetle Tenuisvalvae notata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) (Mulsant) is a polygamous species and its morphology, as well as the storage capacity of seminal fluid in the spermatheca, may affect its reproductive performance. Thus, the present study evaluates the spermatheca morphology of virgin and mated T. notata females using light and scanning microscopy. The results show that the spermatheca of T. notata is kidney shaped and consists only of the receptacle and spermathecal duct, being morphologically similar in virgin and mated females. There is no secretion in the spermathecae of virgin females and, in mated females, only once it was not possible to observe the presence of spermatozoa. By contrast, females mate multiple times it is possible to observe spermatozoa in the lumen of the spermatheca surrounding the secreted material. Polygamy in T. notata might be related to the maintenance of viable spermatozoa in the spermatheca, in which case the female would prefer to copulate more times during its adult life than to store spermatozoa for a longer period of time.