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Spermatophylax
A spermatophylax is a gelatinous bolus which some male insects eject during copulation with females through their aedeagi together with spermatophores, and which functions as a nutritive supplement for the female. See also *Nuptial gift Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simply gametes in order to improve the reproductive fitness of the donor. Often, such a gift will improve the fit ... References Insect anatomy Sexual anatomy {{Insect-stub ...
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Nuptial Gift
Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simply gametes in order to improve the reproductive fitness of the donor. Often, such a gift will improve the fitness of the recipient as well. This definition implies neutral gifts, costly gifts and beneficial gifts regarding the fitness of the recipient. Nuptial gifting is at the intersection of sexual selection, nutritional ecology, and life history theory, creating a link between the three. Edible and inedible nuptial gifts Many nuptial gifts are a source of nutrition for the recipient. In many species of animals, including birds, insects, and spiders, this takes the form of a food item that is transferred from a male to a female just prior to copulation. This is a behavior known as courtship feeding. Inedible tokens may include items such as a fragment of leaf or twig, a seed tuft, or a silk balloon. How gifts are received There are thre ...
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Spermatophore
A spermatophore, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (''spérma''), meaning "seed", and -φόρος (''-phóros''), meaning "bearing", or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophores may additionally contain nourishment for the female, in which case it is called a nuptial gift, as in the instance of bush crickets. In the case of the toxic moth '' Utetheisa ornatrix'', the spermatophore includes sperm, nutrients, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids which prevent predation because it is poisonous to most organisms. However, in some species such as the Edith's checkerspot butterfly, the "gift" provides little nutrient value. The weight of the spermatophore transferred at mating has little effect on female reproductive output. Arthropods Spermatophores are the norm in arachnid Arachnids are arthro ...
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Aedeagus
An aedeagus ( or aedeagi) is a reproductive organ of male arthropods through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation (zoology), copulation with a female. It can be thought of as the insect equivalent of a mammal's penis, though the comparison is fairly loose given the greater complexity of insect reproduction. The term is derived . The aedeagus is part of the male's abdomen, which is the hindmost of the three major body sections of an insect. The pair of testes of the insect are connected to the aedeagus through the genital Duct (anatomy), ducts. The aedeagus is part of the male insect's phallus, a complex and often species-specific arrangement of more or less sclerotized (hardened) flaps and hooks which also includes in some species the valvae (clasper), which are paired organs which help the male hold on to the female during copulation. During copulation, the aedeagus connects with the ovipore of a female. The aedeagus can be quite pronounced or ''de minim ...
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Gelatine
Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolysis, hydrolyzed collagen, collagen hydrolysate, gelatine hydrolysate, hydrolyzed gelatine, and collagen peptides after it has undergone hydrolysis. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, beverages, medications, drug or vitamin capsule (pharmacy), capsules, photographic films, photographic paper, papers, and cosmetics. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called gelatinous substances. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolysis, hydrolyzed form of collagen, wherein the hydrolysis reduces protein fibrils into smaller peptides; depending on the physical and chemical methods of denaturation, the molecular weight of the peptides falls within a broad range. Gelatin is present in gelatin desserts, most gummy candy and marshmallows, i ...
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Bolus (digestion)
In digestion, a bolus () is a ball-like mixture of food and saliva that forms in the mouth during the process of chewing (which is largely an adaptation for plant-eating mammals). It has the same color as the food being eaten, and the saliva gives it an alkaline pH. Under normal circumstances, the bolus is swallowed, and travels down the esophagus to the stomach for digestion. See also * Chyme * Chyle References Digestive system {{Digestive-stub ...
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Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, Thorax (insect anatomy), thorax and abdomen (insect anatomy), abdomen), three pairs of jointed Arthropod leg, legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antenna (biology), antennae. Insects are the most diverse group of animals, with more than a million described species; they represent more than half of all animal species. The insect nervous system consists of a insect brain, brain and a ventral nerve cord. Most insects reproduce Oviparous, by laying eggs. Insects Respiratory system of insects, breathe air through a system of Spiracle (arthropods), paired openings along their sides, connected to Trachea#Invertebrates, small tubes that take air directly to the tissues. The blood therefore does not carry oxygen; it is only partly contained in ves ...
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Copulation (zoology)
In zoology, copulation is animal sexual behavior in which a male introduces sperm into the female's body, especially directly into her reproductive tract. This is an aspect of mating. Many aquatic animals use external fertilization, whereas internal fertilization may have developed from a need to maintain gametes in a liquid medium in the Late Ordovician epoch. Internal fertilization with many vertebrates (such as all reptiles, some fish, and most birds) occurs via cloacal copulation, known as cloacal kiss (see also hemipenis), while most mammals copulate vaginally, and many basal vertebrates reproduce sexually with external fertilization. In spiders and insects Spiders are often confused with insects, but they are not insects; instead, they are arachnids. Spiders have separate male and female sexes. Before mating and copulation, the male spider spins a small web and ejaculates on to it. He then stores the sperm in reservoirs on his large pedipalps, from which he tran ...
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Nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- and Micronutrient, micro-) which can be Metabolism, metabolized to create Food energy, energy and chemical structures; too much or too little of an essential nutrient can cause malnutrition. Nutritional science, the study of nutrition as a hard science, typically emphasizes human nutrition. The type of organism determines what nutrients it needs and how it obtains them. Organisms obtain nutrients by consuming organic matter, consuming inorganic matter, absorbing light, or some combination of these. Some can produce nutrients internally by consuming basic elements, while some must consume other organisms to obtain pre-existing nutrients. All forms of life require carbon, Biological thermodynamics, energy, and water as well as various other ...
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Biological Reviews
The Cambridge Philosophical Society (CPS) is a scientific society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of law, theology and medicine. The society was granted a royal charter by King William IV in 1832. The society is governed by an elected council of senior academics, which is chaired by the Society's President, according to a set of statutes. The society has published several scientific journals, including ''Biological Reviews'' (established 1926) and ''Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' (formerly entitled ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'', published since 1843). ''Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' was published between 1821–1928, but was then discontinued. History The society was founded in 1819 by John Stevens Henslow, Adam Sedgwick and Edward Clarke, is Cambridge's ...
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Insect Anatomy
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insects from other arthropods: they have a body divided into three regions (called tagmata) (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of legs, and mouthparts located ''outside'' of the head capsule. This position of the mouthparts divides them from their closest relatives, the non-insect hexapods, which include Protura, Diplura, and Collembola. There is enormous variation in body structure amongst insect species. Individuals can range from 0.3 mm ( fairyflies) to 30 cm across ( great owlet moth); have no eyes or many; well-developed wings or none; and legs modified for running, jumping, swimming, or even digging. These modifications allow insects to occupy almost every ecological niche except the deep ocean. This article describe ...
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