BIOL 317 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Strepsiptera, Muscidae, Corixidae
Document Summary
Reproduction, embryology and post-embryonic development in insects: means of locating mates, courtship behaviors. Insemination, fertilization: post-copulatory behaviors, embryological development, larval development. Mate location: on a host: strepsiptera females are legless, wingless internal parasites of bees. Only the tip of the abdomen is exposed. Male mosquitoes are attracted to the specific frequency of female mosquito wingbeats: courtship: visual, chemical and auditory signals can bring mates to close proximity, but copulation usually depends on tactile stimulation, sometimes combined with short-range chemical stimulation. Often a complex cascade or sequence of behaviors is required for copulation to proceed. Fertilization: the non-insect hexapods and the most primitive insects (thysanura) depend on indirect sperm transfer: males deposit a packet of sperm (spermatophore) on the substrate which is later picked up by the female. In higher orders of insects, fertilization is internal. Genitalia are often highly species specific and specialized to deliver spermatophores into the female reproductive tract.
