TRANSFER OF MALE SECRETIONS TO FEMALES THROUGH COPULATION IN MENIDA-SCOTTI (HETEROPTERA, PENTATOMIDAE)

The possibility of male Menida scotti (PUTON) donating their secretion s to females through copulation was investigated. When adults of both sexes were reared in a jar, the volume of bursa of spermathecal duct ( bursa) in the females increased, whereas the volumes of both the bulbu s ejaculatorius and the reservoir of the ectodermal accessory gland (r eservoir of the ectadene) in the males decreased. Isolation of the cop ulated females from males caused a significant decrease in the volume of bursa. Virgin females and males showed no changes in the volume of these reproductive organs. In the copulated females, spermatozoa were not observed in the bursa but only in the spermathecal bulb under micr oscopic examination. The volume of the bursa in the females showed a s ignificant positive correlation with the total copulation time. In con trast, the volume of the bulbus ejaculatorius and of the reservoir of the ectadene in males exhibited a significant negative correlation wit h the total copulation time. Very high radioactivity in the bursa was detected in a female which had copulated with a male injected with [C- 14]isoleucine. These results show clearly that the males donate the se cretions stored in the bulbus ejaculatorius and the ectodermal accesso ry gland secretions to the bursa of the females, and suggest that the females digest them.