Structure of the Female Reproductive System and Maturation of Oöcytes in Smicronyx fulvus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

The ovary of Smicronyx fulvus LeConte comprises two telotrophic ovarioles. Each ovary opens into a pedicel followed by a short lateral oviduct, a long convoluted median oviduct, vagina, bursa copulatrix, and spermatheca. Females feeding on sunflower pollen for 4 d had oocytes in the tropharium, and oocytes had moved into the lateral oviducts of females fed on pollen for 5 d. Females denied access to sunflower pollen and feeding on bract tissue of sunflower buds resorbed basal oocytes within 4 d. Rapid maturation of oocytes may be related to the relatively short (5-10 d) anthesis substages in which achenes are suitable for oviposition. Spermatozoa were present in the spermatheca regardless of diet.