Morphology and fine organization of the spermatheca of Haplotropis brunneriana (Orthoptera: Pamphagidae)

REVISTA

BRASILEIRA

DE

Entomologia

w w w . r b e n t o m o l o g i a . c o m

Systematics,

Morphology

and

Biogeography

Morphology

and

fine

organization

of

the

spermatheca

of

Haplotropis

brunneriana

(Orthoptera:

Pamphagidae)

Ke

Li,

Yujing

Yang,

Lei

Mao,

Jinhui

Zhang,

Jianxun

Geng,

Huan

Yin

ShanxiNormalUniversity,CollegeofLifeSciences,Linfen,China

a

r

t

i

c

l

e

i

n

f

o

Articlehistory:

Received21February2017 Accepted16August2017 Availableonline1September2017 AssociateEditor:M.ElianaCancello Keywords:

Ultrastructure Seminalreceptacle Spermathecaltube

a

b

s

t

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t

WeinvestigatedthemorphologyandstructureofspermathecainHaplotropisbrunneriana(Orthoptera: Pamphagidae)bylightandelectronicmicroscopy.Thespermathecacanbesubdividedintoatubular seminalreceptacleandamultiple-coiledspermathecaltube,bothofwhicharecomposedofcuticular intima,epitheliumlayer,basallaminaandmusclelayer,frominsidetooutside.Thecuticularintimais madeupofaheterogeneousendocuticle,ahomogeneousexocuticleandanepicuticle,butthe propor-tionofexocuticleinintimaoftheseminalreceptacleislargerthanthatofthespermathecaltube.The epitheliumlayercomprisesepithelialcells,glandcellsandductcells.Theultrastructuralfeaturesofthe epithelialcellsindicatedthatitsfunctionpotentiallyincludessupport,secretionandabsorption.The glandcellspotentiallyfulfilasecretoryroleindicativeoftheabundanceofmitochondriaandmicrovilli. Inglandcells,anextracellularcavity,showingregiondifferencesintheseminalreceptacleandthe sper-mathecaltube,waslinedwithmicrovillusborder.Theroleofductcellisresponsibleforformingthe secretoryductules,whichconnecttheextracellularcavitywiththelumenofthespermathecathrough thecuticularintima.Thesenewdatacontributetoourunderstandingofthefunctionofthespermatheca ofH.brunneriana.

©2017SociedadeBrasileiradeEntomologia.PublishedbyElsevierEditoraLtda.Thisisanopen accessarticleundertheCCBY-NC-NDlicense(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Introduction

Thespermathecaarisedfromectodermisasecondaryorganin reproductivesystemoffemaleinsects.Thekeyrolesofthe sperma-thecaarespermcollectionandstorageduringmating,andsperm releaseforfertilization.Moreover,thespermathecaisaplacewhere morphologicalandbiochemicalchangesofthemalegameteoccur, preparingitforsuccessfulfertilization(Longoetal.,1993).

Thereare distinctdifferencesinnumber, externalshape and structureofspermathecaamongvariousinsectspecies.Orthoptera insectshavejustonespermathecawhichiscomposedofa semi-nalreceptacleandaspermathecaltubewithdifferentlength.In contrast,theinsectsintheotherordersusuallyhavemorethan onespermatheca,for example,Blaps(Coleoptera) and Phleboto-mus (Diptera) have two spermathecae (Chapman, 1998); Aedes aegypti(Diptera)havethreespermathecae(Pascinietal.,2012). Among insects, the external shape of the seminal receptacle exhibitsflattenedtubularinGryonpennsylvanicum(Hymenoptera)

(Paolietal.,2014),sac-shapeinPlatycleisintermedia(Orthoptera)

(Brundo et al., 2011), sphericalshape in Teleogryllus commodus

∗ Correspondingauthor.

E-mail:80831227@qq.com(H.Yin).

(Orthoptera)(Sturm,2008),golfclub-likeinPhlebotomuspapatasi Scopoli(Diptera)(Ilango,2005)andsoon.Forstructure,depending ontheinsectspecies,thecelltypesofthespermathecalepithelium aredifferent.

Numerous studies on the structure of spermatheca in Orthoptera have beenreported, suchas Melanoplus sanguinipes (Acrididae)(AhmedandGillott,1982),Rhacocleisannulata (Tettigo-niidae)(Viscusoetal.,1996), Locustamigratoria(Acrididae)(Lay etal.,1999),T.commodus(Grylloidea)(Sturm,2008)andPlatycleis intermedia (Tettigoniidae)(Brundo et al., 2011).However, rela-tivelyfewstudiesexistontheultrastructuralorganizationoftheH. brunnerianaspermatheca.Thus,researchonthemorphologyand structureofspermathecalofH.brunnerianabymeansoflightand electronicmicroscopycanextendourknowledgeforthefunction ofinsectspermathecainthereproductivebiology.

Materialandmethods Insects

Healthy insects of H. brunneriana were collected from Huo mountaininLinfen,Shanxiprovince,China.Theywerefedinthe laboratory.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rbe.2017.08.003

0085-5626/©2017SociedadeBrasileiradeEntomologia.PublishedbyElsevierEditoraLtda.ThisisanopenaccessarticleundertheCCBY-NC-NDlicense(http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

324 K.Lietal./RevistaBrasileiradeEntomologia61(2017)323–329

Lightmicroscopy

Fifteenmatedfemaleadultsweredissectedinasalinesolution andthewholespermathecawastakenoutandphotographedunder astereomicroscope(Nikon.SMZ-1500).TheywerefixedinBouin’s liquidfor4hat4◦C.Thetissuesweredehydratedingradedalcohol seriesfor10minineachbath,andembeddedinparaffin.The7␮m sectionswerestainedwithhaematoxylin–eosin.Observationsand photographsweremadebylightmicroscope(OlympusFSX-100). Scanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM)

Sixspermathecaewerefixedin2.5%glutaraldehydeovernight at 4◦C and then washed three times with phosphate-buffered saline(PBS,20mineachwash).Thespermathecaewerecutopen usingaverysharpbladeunderadissectionmicroscope.The semi-nalreceptacleandthespermathecaltubeofspermathecaewere respectivelycutlengthwiseintoseveralparts.Afterbeing dehy-dratedinagradedethanolseries,samplesweretreatedwith100% acetonefor20min.Thesampleswerethencriticalpointdriedand goldcoatedbyasputteringdevice(JEC-1600).Finally,sampleswere analyzedandphotographedusingaJSM-7500Fscanningelectron microscope.

Transmissionelectronmicroscopy(TEM)

Sixspermathecaewereimmediatelyfixedinafreshly2.5% glu-taraldehydeat4◦Caftertheinsectspermathecaweredissectedand thencutinto1mm3_{atonce.After4h,beingwashedwithPBS(pH}

7.2–7.4)threetimesand20minperwash,sampleswerepost-fixed in1%osmiumtetroxidefor 2handwashedin PBSthreetimes. Thepreparationsweresubsequentlydehydratedinagraded ace-toneseriesandembeddedinEPON-812.Ultrathinsections(60nm) werecutwithaglassknife,stainedwithuranylacetateandlead citrate,andthenphotographedwithanH-7650transmission elec-tronmicroscope.

Results Morphology

ThestructureoffemalegenitaliaofH.brunnerianaconformsto thegeneralmodelofthereproductiveorganinorthopterainsects.A pairofovariesiscomposedofovarioles,whichopenintothelateral oviducts.Thelateraloviductsmergeinacommonoviduct,which openstothegenitalchamber.Thespermathecalyinginthebackof thegenitalchamberconsistsofaflattenedtubularseminal recep-tacleand acoiled spermathecal tube(Fig.1).The spermathecal tubefromthegenitalchambergoesbyseveralroundaboutsbefore enteringtheseminalreceptacle,whichoftenirregularlybendsinto asphere(Fig.1).Thetotallengthofthespermathecaisabout2cm. Theseminalreceptacleisabout4mmlong whenextended and about1mminwidthatitswidestpoint.Thespermathecaltube runsstraightforabout16mminlengthwithanaveragecalibreof about0.5mm.

Histology

Thegeneralorganization oftheseminalreceptacleissimilar tospermathecaltube.Frominsidetooutside,thesetwopartsare composedofcuticularintima,epithelium,basallaminaandmuscle layer(Figs.2–5).Theepitheliumincludesepithelialcells,glandcells andductcells.Largenumberofdark-stainedspermsandsecretions were found in the lumen (Figs. 2 and 3). The secretory duc-tulesformedbytheductcells,passingthroughthickintima,were identifiedincontinuouscuticularintima(Figs.4and5).Distinct

extracellularcavitiesappearintheepitheliumlayer(Figs.4and5). However, thethickness of the epithelium layerin the seminal receptacleislargerthanthatinthetube(Figs.4and5).The mus-clelayer,locatedoutsidethebasallamina,iscomposedofcircular muscleandlongitudinalmuscle(Figs.2and3),whicharearranged non-uniformly. Thecircular muscle is dominantin theseminal receptaclesection,whilethelongitudinalmuscleisdominantin thetubesection(Figs.2and3).

Ultrastructure

InSEM,irregularlyarrangedfoldsandsecretoryductules’ open-ingsappearonthecuticularintimainnersurfaceoftheseminal receptacle(Figs.7and8)andthespermathecaltube(Figs.9and10). The openingsin the seminalreceptacle areabout 0.9␮m wide (Fig.8),whicharelargerthanthat(ca.0.4␮m)inthespermathecal

tube(Fig.11).

Thecuticularintimaismadeupofaheterogeneousendocuticle, ahomogeneousexocuticleandanepicuticle(Figs.12and13).The epicuticleisanosmophilicthinlayer,delimitingthespermathecal lumen(Figs.12and13).Theproportionoftheendocuticleandthe exocuticleofintimaintheseminalreceptacleisimparitytothat inthespermathecaltube.Theendocuticleandtheexocuticlein theintimaoftheseminalreceptaclerespectivelyareabout11␮m and10␮mthickness(Fig.12),andtheendocuticlehasathickness ofabout16␮mandtheexocuticleisonly4␮mthicknessinthe spermathecaltube(Fig.13).

Theepithelialcellwithanelongatedheterochromaticnucleus islocatednexttotheglandcells(Fig.14).Mitochondriaarerich intheapicalcytoplasmoftheepithelialcellwheretheyhave a microvillusbordertowardsthecuticularintima(Figs.15and16). Someepithelialcellstightlyattachtoeachotherandcelljunctionis alsoobserved(Fig.16).Theindividualorgroupedmicrotubulesrun perpendiculartothecuticularintimainterfaceinthecytoplasmof epithelialcellandextendthroughthecellsfromtheapicaltothe basalpart(Figs.16–18).

Incontrasttotheepithelialcell,theglandcells haveovalor sphericalnucleisituatedinthebasalcytoplasm(Fig.14).Thegland cellmanifesttypicalstructuresforproducingproteins: mitochon-dria,roughendoplasmic reticulum (RER), aswell asvesicles of differentsizeandelectron-densegranules(Fig.14).Eachglandcell hasalargeextracellularcavity,about8␮m×12␮mindiameter, whichislinedwithmicrovilli(Figs.14,19and20).Butthereare differentcharactersinalternativeregionsofthecavitiesobserved underTEM.Intheseminalreceptacle,thiscavityisstainedslightly andthevicinityofthecavityisenrichedwithmitochondria(Fig.14). Incontrast,inthespermathecaltube,thecavityisstainedheavily (Fig.19).Therearecomparativelyfewermitochondriainthe cyto-plasmaroundthecavity,but,vesiclesofdifferentelectron-density granulesarefoundhere(Fig.19).Andmostofall,thecavityisfilled withhomogeneoussubstanceinthespermathecalduct(Fig.19).

Duct cells show less cytoplasm, possessing heterochromatic nucleus,arefrequentlyarrangedadjacenttotheextracellular cav-ityofglandcells(Fig.21).Theductcellsareresponsibleforforming thesecretoryductules,whichcanbeseenintheductcellsandthe cuticularintima(Figs.13,15and21).Oneendofthesecretory duc-tuleisclosedoffbyanendapparatusintheextracellularcavitiesof theglandcells(Figs.19and22),theotherendthatgoesacrossthe intima(Figs.13and15)opensintothelumenofthespermatheca

(Figs.7and8).

These cells lie on a thin, fibrillar basal lamina with wide invaginations.Thebasalmembraneiscoveredbymuscularlayer, includingcircularmuscleandlongitudinalmuscle(Figs.2and3).

Figs.1–5.MorphologyandmicrostructureofthespermathecaofH.brunneriana.(1)Generalviewofthespermathecaofamatedfemalecomposedbyseminalreceptacle (sr)andthespermathecaltube(st).Theinsetshowsastretched-outseminalreceptacle.Scalebar:1mm;(2)thetransversesectionofseminalreceptacle.Scalebar:260␮m; (3)thetransversesectionofthespermathecaltube.Scalebar:130␮m;(4)detailsofthedilationinlittlesquarein2.Scalebar:50␮m;(5)detailsofthedilationinlittle squarein3.Scalebar:50␮m.s,sperms;ci,cuticularintima;cmu,circularmuscle;lmu,longitudinalmuscle;epl,epitheliumlayer;epcn,epithelialcellnucleus;gcn,gland cellnucleus;dcn,ductcellnucleus;ec,extracellularcavity;sd,secretoryductule.

Discussion

ThespermathecaofH.brunnerianacomprisesaseminal recep-tacleandaspermathecaltube,butthespermathecalglandwasnot found,asinthevastmajorityoforthopteraninsects(Brundoetal.,

2011;Layetal.,1999;Viscusoetal.,1996).

Thepositionofthespermathecavariesamongdifferentinsect orders.ThespermathecaltubeofH.brunnerianaopensintothe gen-italchamber independentlyof theoviduct.In contrast,itopens intothedorsalwallofthemedianoviductinGryon pennsylvan-icum(Hymenoptera,Plastygastridae)(Paolietal.,2014)orintothe

vaginainMeliponabicolor bicolor (Hymenoptera,Apidae)(

Cruz-Landimetal.,2006).

Acanthae were found on the inner surface of the cuticular intimaofspermathecainsomeinsectspecies.Theexistingdata showed that acanthae are located in three regions: the semi-nalreceptacle,transitionregionbetweentheseminalreceptacle andthespermathecaltube,andthebasalspermathecaltube.For instances,inOedaleusinfernalis(Acrididae,Oedipodinae)the acan-thaewereonlyfoundintheseminalreceptacle(Heetal.,2004).InL. migratoria(Acrididae,Oedipodinae),theyappearinboththe tran-sitionregionandthebasalspermathecaltube(Layetal.,1999).In

326 K.Lietal./RevistaBrasileiradeEntomologia61(2017)323–329

Figs.6–11.Scanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM)showingofcuticularintimaofthespermatheca.(6)Thelongitudinalsectionoftheseminalreceptacle.Scalebar:100␮m; (7)theinnersurfaceofcuticularintimaintheseminalreceptacle.Scalebar:2␮m;(8)representstheregiondelimitedbytherectanglein7.Detailofopeningaductuleinto thelumen.Scalebar:200nm;(9)cross-sectionthroughthespermathecaltube.Scalebar:100␮m;(10)theinnersurfaceofcuticularintimainthespermathecaltube.Scale bar:2␮m;(11)detailofopeninginlittlesquarein10.Scalebar:500nm.l,lumen;ci,cuticularintima;epl,epitheliumlayer;ec,extracellularcavity;mu,muscle;bl,basal lamina;f,folds;o,opening.

Figs.12and13.TheultrastructureofthecuticularintimaofthespermathecainTEM.(12)Thecuticularintimaofseminalreceptacle.Scalebar:10␮m;(13)thecuticular intimaofspermathecaltube.Scalebar:10␮m.ep,epicuticle;en,endocuticle;ex,exocuticle;sd,secretoryductule.

Figs.14–18.EpithelialcellsandglandcellofthespermathecainTEM.(14)Theepithelialcells,haveanelongatedheterochromaticnucleus,islocatednexttotheglandcells. Glandcellhasalargeextracellularcavity.Basalistotheright.Scalebar:5␮m;(15)apicalpartoftheepithelialcellwithmicrovilliborder.Scalebar:5␮m;(16)theindividual orgroupedmicrotubulesrunperpendiculartothecuticularintimainterface.Scalebar:5␮m;(17)microtubulesextendthroughthecellsandendtothebasallamina.Scale bar:2␮m;(18)detailofthemicrotubules.Scalebar:500nm.ec,extracellularcavity;mi,microvilli;v,vesicles;epcn,epithelialcellnucleus;gcn,glandcellnucleus;mit, mitochondrion;rer,roughendoplasmicreticulum;dc,ductcell;sd,secretoryductule;ci,cuticularintima;epc,epithelialcell;mt,microtubules;cj,celljunction;bl,basal lamina.

Dichromorphaviridis(Acrididae,Gomphocerinae)theywere iden-tified in both theseminal receptacle and the transitionregion

(JohnsonandNiedzlek-Feaver,1998).However,therearenot

acan-thaeintheinnersurfacesofthespermathecainH.brunneriana, asdoesthatofSchistocercaamericana(Acrididae, Cyrtacanthacridi-nae)andDissosteiracarolina(Acrididae,Oedipodinae)(Gardnerand

Niedzlek-Feaver,2004).

Acanthaedistributed onthespermathecal innersurfacemay performdifferentfunctions.Layetal.(1999)speculatedthatthe functionoftheseacanthaeistokeepadistancefromthesperm masstothespermathecalwall,whilesomeauthorssuggestedthat theymaypossiblyserveasamechanicalfunction(Richardsand

Richards,1979).Therearenoacanthaebutheavilyfoldsintheinner

surfaceoftheseminalreceptacleregionofH.brunneriana(Fig.7). Thesefoldspresumablyplayarolesimilartothoseacanthae. Fur-therresearchisnecessaryfortheclarification.

The cuticular intima of insects typically includes 3 layers: endocuticle,exocuticleandepicuticle.Endocuticlewithchitinand resilinprovideflexibilityandelasticity.Largeamountsofproteins inexocuticlearetanned,providinghardnessforcuticularintima

(Wigglesworth,1948).Theproportionofendocuticleand

exocu-ticlein the cuticular intimaof H. brunneriana showedregional differences(Figs.12and13).Comparedtothespermathecaltube, theproportionofendocuticleandexocuticleintheseminal recep-tacle issmaller.Thus, seminalreceptacle withrelativelyhigher hardnessissuitable for a stableplaceto storesperms,andthe flexiblespermathecaltubeisusedformatingandreleasingsperms.

Ingeneral,thecelltypesofepitheliumininsectspermatheca vary among differentspecies. Someonly consist of the epithe-lialcells,asinLiogryllusbimaculatus(Gryllidae,Gryllinae)(Sathe

andJoshi,1988);somearemadeupoftheepithelialcellsandthe

glandcellslikeL.migratoria (Lay etal.,1999)and Oxyachinesis (Acrididae, Oxiyinae) (Dou and Xi, 2002); and other are com-posed ofthe epithelialcells, thegland cells and theduct cells, as reported in O. infernalis (Acrididae, Oedipodinae) (He et al., 2004)andPararcypteramicropterameridionalis(Acrididae, Gom-phocerinae)(Lietal.,2016).OurstudyshowedthatH.brunneriana epitheliumcontainsthreetypesofcells:epithelialcells,glandcells andductcells.Theductcellisaspecializedcuticle-formingcellin considerationofitscytologicalcharacteristicsandfunctions(Noirot

andQuennedey,1974).Therefore,wesuggestthatH.brunneriana

ofPamphagidaehavecloserrelationshipswithO.infernalisorP. micropterameridionalisofAcrididaeaswellasexistingthreecell typesthanL.migratoriaorOxyachinesisofAcrididaewithtwocell typesinphylogeneticrelationships,andisfarfromLiogryllus bimac-ulatusofGryllidaewithonlyonecelltypes.Whetherwemayuse thisfeatureasareferencestandardforanalyzingthesystematic relationshipamongmembersofthesamegroup,duetothe defi-ciencyofdatainliterature,thistopicdeservesfurtherstudies.

In epithelial cell, the apical cytoplasm contains numerous mitochondriaandmicrovilli(Figs.15 and16), itis indicativeof cuticularintimaformedbyactivetransport.Thebasalregions pos-siblyinvolveinthere-absorptionorthenutrienttransportprocess fromthehaemocoel totheepitheliumofspermatheca(Fig.17),

328 K.Lietal./RevistaBrasileiradeEntomologia61(2017)323–329 mi ec ea mi 19 21 22 20 ci edg dcn sd ec ea ec v v

←

→

↑

↑

Figs.19–22. Ductcellandtheextracellularcavityofthespermatheca.(19)TheextracellularcavityshowshomogeneoussubstancesofspermathecaltubeinTEM.Scalebar: 10␮m;(20)thelargeextracellularcavitylinedwithdensemicrovilliinSEM.Scalebar:5␮m;(21)ductcell,lesscytoplasm,isarrangedadjacenttotheextracellularcavity ofglandcell.Scalebar:2␮m;(22)endapparatuscanbeseeninextracellularcavityofglandcellsinSEM.Scalebar:2␮m.mi,microvilli;ec,extracellularcavity;ea,end apparatus;v,vesicles;sd,secretoryductule;dcn,ductcellnucleus;ci,cuticularintima;e.g.,electron-densegranules.

givenalargenumberofmitochondriaandinvaginationsofthebasal laminaasreferredinotherinsects(Brundoetal.,2011).In addi-tion,therearemanylongitudinalmicrotubulesfromapicaltobasal

(Figs.16and17)runningperpendiculartothemicrovilliborder,

whichindicatedtheepitheliumwaslikelyinvolvedinproviding themechanicalstressduringspermtransport.

There are regional differences of extracellular cavity in the spermathecaofH.brunneriana,thephenomenonalsoreportedin otherspecies(Lay etal.,1999).Intheseminalreceptacle,there aremitochondriainthevicinityoftheextracellularcavitysowe speculatethatheremaycarryoutactivetransport(Fig.14).In con-trast,inthespermathecal tube,it showsfewmitochondria,and homogeneoussubstanceswereobservedinthecavity(Fig.19),itis alsoconceivablethatsubstancesweresecretedfromglandcellvia themicrovilliormerocrinesecretion.Itisindicatedthatthegland cellsinalternativeregionsmayhavethedifferentfunctions.For H.brunnerianatheepithelium,theglandcellsareconnectedwith theductcells,soitclassifiedasclass3accordingtotheNoirotand

Quennedey(1974)classificationabouttheepidermalglandcell.

ThedistributionofthemusclesinH.brunnerianaisirregular. Intheseminalreceptacle,thecircularmuscleisdominant,asthe longitudinalmuscleisinthetubesection.Thismusclearrangement isconducivetospermcollectionandreleasing.

Inthispaper,themorphologyandstructureofspermathecaofH. brunnerianawereexamined.Theresultsshowedthattheseminal receptacleandthespermathecaltubehavesimilarorganizational structure,butsomedifferenceswerealsoidentifiedincludingthe extracellularcavityofglandcell,theproportionofendocuticleand

exocuticleincuticularintima,thedistributionofmuscle.Thus,itis likelythattheseminalreceptacleandthespermathecaltubehave differentbiologicalfunctions.Theseminalreceptaclemayservefor thecollectionandstorageofthesperm,whilethespermathecal tubeispotentiallyresponsibleforthespermtransport.

Conflictsofinterest

Theauthorsdeclarenoconflictsofinterest. Acknowledgement

Thisresearchwassupportedbythefundingofthe undergrad-uateinnovativeexperimentprojectofShanxiNormalUniversity (SD2014CXXM-01).

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