...), within the spermatophore. These components are passed to females during copulation and then stored within the spermatheca. We then tested the novel hypothesis that PGE 2 is ephemerally available after mating and that females must frequently mate to maintain access to this limiting compound. We found...

... of a complex female reproductive adaptation in butterflies and moths: a stomach-like organ in the female reproductive tract called the bursa copulatrix that digests the male ejaculate (spermatophore). Little is known about how the bursa digests the spermatophore. We characterized bursa proteolytic capacity...

... that the spermatophores of males held in captivity become progressively melanized, a process that eventually renders them impotent. Then, by using melanin specks as a color marker, it is demonstrated that this phenomenon can be delayed and even reversed as long as the males remain sexually active. Lastly and most...

...Mikihiko Kumashiro; Yohei Tsuji; Masaki Sakai SUMMARY The reproductive cycle of the male cricket consists of the mating stage and the sexually refractory stage. The latter is further divided into the first refractory stage (RS1) from spermatophore extrusion in copulation to spermatophore...