Abstract
SummaryThe copulation reflex of the drone honeybee was found to be a compound reflex consisting of two elements occurring synchronously: successive contractions of muscles of the seminal vesicles and mucus glands, which cause the semen and mucus to be extruded;contraction of the muscles of the abdominal wall, which cause the endophallus to evert. In the intact drone not yet ready for copulation, the reflex is inhibited by the cephalic nervous system, most probably by the brain. The reflexogenous zone is the ventral side of the abdominal wall, and is more extensive than the “genital sensory field” described by Ruttner (1962). The motor centres for the abdominal contractions are located in abdominal ganglia 1–3. It is not yet established whether the innervation from the second thoracic ganglion also contributes to these contractions. The fourth abdominal ganglion is the only reflex centre for contractions of the accessory glands and vesicles.
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