Anatomy and histology of female and male reproductive tracts of the two Dermaptera species Euborellia annulipes (Lucas, 1847) and Doru luteipes (Scudder, 1876)
摘要
Dermaptera is a cosmopolitan order of insects, popularly known as earwigs, with representatives distributed mainly in the southern hemisphere. In Brazil, a huge diversity of Dermaptera species, including Doru luteipes (Scudder 1876) and Euborellia annulipes (Lucas 1847), is frequently found in crops of economic importance. The growing interest in sustainable agriculture has shed light on these species due to their predation on immature stages of pest insects, the perspectives of their mass rearing in the laboratory, and potential field mass releases. However, knowledge of reproductive biology, including the reproductive organs, of these predators is scarce. Here we comparatively describe the morphology of female and male reproductive tracts of D. luteipes and E. annulipes. Morphologically, the ovaries of females of the two species can be classified as Anisolabis type for E. annulipes, and Forficula type in D. luteipes. Both species presented common features of Dermaptera including the meroistic polytrophic ovaries with the presence of a characteristic single nurse cell but differentiated in the number of ovarioles and the synchrony of oocyte development. The male reproductive tract presented a pair of testes with two follicles connected to the vas deferens, which opens into an enlarged seminal vesicle and joins the ejaculatory duct, and without accessory glands. In males of E. annulipes but not in D. luteipes, a continuation of the post-vesicle vas deferens was detected. Overall, the data on reproductive tracts of E. annulipes and D. luteipes presented here are essential not only at biological and evolutionary levels but also from a practical perspective, as the two species can be used in the integrated management of several agricultural pests.