A secondary copulatory structure in a female insect: a clasp for a nuptial meal?
Secondary copulatory structures are well-known in male dragonflies and spiders. Here I report a secondary copulatory organ in female ground weta, Hemiandrus pallitarsis (Ensifera, Orthoptera - crickets and allies). The organ, located on the underside of the abdomen, appears to secure the male's genitalia during the transfer of a spermatophylax nuptial meal to this location, an area quite separate from the female's primary copulatory structures, where the sperm ampulla is attached.
Gwynne
Darryl T
DT
Department of Zoology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. dgwynne@credit.erin.utoronto.ca
D000818:Animals; D003307:Copulation / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009987:Orthoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*