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Observations on Mating Scars in Glossina palpalis (R.-D.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

F. A. Squire
F. A. Squire
Affiliation:
Entomologist, Department of Agriculture, Sierra Leone.
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Extract

Attention is again drawn to the presence of mating scars in G. palpalis. They vary in degree and are caused by the superior claspers. The function of the inferior claspers is described and a function for the vermiform appendices is suggested. Flies mated under certain laboratory conditions may fail to develop scars, for reasons given. There are no mating scars in the two other tsetse-flies found in Sierra Leone, viz., G. longipalpis and G. fusca owing to the character of the claspers in those species. For this reason it is likely that the scars are confined to flies of the palpalis group. A suggestion is made concerning the physiology of the production of the scars and attention is called to their bionomic importance. The results of spermatheca dissections of unscarred and scarred females are tabulated. From these it is concluded that the absence of mating scars provides a fairly reliable index of the rate of emergence at any particular time.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , November 1951 , pp. 601 - 604
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1951

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References

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