Anatomical and histochemical descriptions of the male reproductive system of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmed) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

• Published in: Revista Brasileira de Entomologia Vol. 65; no. 3
• Main Authors: Maria das Dores da Cruz Souza, Max Pereira Gonçalves, Edmilson Amaral de Souza, Wellen Oliveira Batista, Teresinha Augusta Giustolin, Carlos Gustavo da Cruz, Clarice Diniz Alvarenga
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia 01-01-2021
• Subjects: Accessory glands; Histochemistry; Histology; Seminal vesicles; Spermatogenesis
• ISSN: 1806-9665
• DOI: 10.1590/1806-9665-rbent-2021-0067

ABSTRACT The parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata is an important control agent for several species of fruit flies. Research on the characteristics of the reproductive system and reproductive biology of this parasitoid can be valuable for studies in taxonomy and phylogeny of insects of the order Hymenoptera. In this study we analyzed the histology and histochemistry of the male reproductive system of D. longicaudata. In this species the male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes, two accessory glands, and an ejaculatory duct. Each testicle consists of only one follicle. The testicular follicles are filled with cysts in different stages of spermatogenesis. Histochemical analyses detected proteins and carbohydrates in the cytoplasm of secretory cells and in the lumen of accessory glands. The morphology of the male reproductive system of D. longicaudata differs in some respects from other species of Hymenoptera.