First Report of Abnormal Spermathecae in Phlebotomus （Larroussius） Iongicuspis Nitzulescu, 1930 （Diptera： Psychodidae）, in Tunisia

Phlebotomine sandflies （Diptera： Psychodidae） constitute a large group of flies, many of which have been described as vectors of leishmaniasis, a disease caused by Leishmania （Kinetoplastida： Trypanosomatidae） parasites. In Tunisia, a total of 17 species belonging to both genera Phlebotomus and Sergentomyia were described. In this work we report on an abnormality found in spermathecae of a female specimen ofPhlebotomus （Larroussius） longicuspis Nitzulescu, 1930. Sandflies were collected in SidiSaad locality, in the govemorate of Kairouan, central Tunisia, where zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic, during the June to November 2011 period, using CDC light traps. Males were washed and directly identified and females were dissected and morphologically identified using the head and the last two abdominal segments containing spermathecae and ducts. 162 flies were morphologically described. Among 33 females identified as Phlebotomus （Larroussius） longicuspis, one specimen was found abnormal and presented with three spermathecae. An additional spermathecae located in a short bifurcation on the upper extremity of one duct was found. This anomaly is for the first time described in Tunisia. Morphological abnormalities are important to report in order to avoid erroneous sandfly identification or description of new species.

Quantitative impact of mating duration on reproduction and offspring sex ratio of Phytoseiulus persimilis(Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Phytoseiulus persimilis is an important biological control agent, commercially produced worldwide. To increase understandings of its reproduction, herein we provided quantitative descriptions of the inflation and deflation of its spermathecae as a function of time and copulation duration, and the quantitative impact of copulation termination on volume of spermatheca vesicle, fecundity, and offspring sex ratio. After mating started, at least one spermatheca started to inflate immediately, but no egg was produced until spermatheca volume reached 1 021 μm3. Beyond this size, cumulative fecundity was linearly correlated with vesicle volume. Producing one egg required 36 μm3 volume increase of the vesicle. Each spermatheca vesicle reached its peak size at the end of mating duration(ca. 2.38 h after mating started), and started to shrink immediately. In 24 h, ca. 71% individuals had one completely shriveled spermatheca, while in 72 h all individuals had at least one shriveled spermatheca. The estimated maximum cumulative fecundity per female after a single mating is(69.4±7.7) eggs. No significant impact of mating termination on offspring sex ratio was observed after mating duration reached 60 min, while higher proportion of male offspring was observed when mating duration is 15 or 30 min. This study is the first step to investigate possible male impact on offspring sex ratio in P. persimilis. Our results suggested the number of sperms received during mating be a restriction factor of P. persimilis offspring sex ratio regulation.

Female control of sperm ejection and retention in the cornsilk fly Euxesta eluta(Diptera:Ulididae)

Promiscuous mating systems provide the opportunity for females to bias fertilization toward particular males.However,distinguishing between male sperm com-petition and active female sperm choice is difficult for species with internal fertilization.Nevertheless,species that store and use sperm of different males in different storing struc-tures and species where females are able to expel all or part of the ejaculates after cop-ulation may be able to bias fertilization.We report a series of experiments aimed at pro-viding evidence of female sperm choice in Euxesta eluta(Hendel),a species of ulidiid fly that expels and consumes ejaculates after copulation.We found no evidence of greater reproductive success for females mated singly,multiply with the same male,or mated multiply with different males.Female E.eluta possesses two spherical spermathecae and a bursa copulatrix for sperm storage,with a ventral receptacle.There was no significant difference in storing more sperm in spermathecae 24 h after copulation than immediately after copulation.Females mated with protein-fed males had greater reproductive success than similar females mated to protein-deprived males.Protein-fed females prevented to consume the ejaculate,retained more sperm when mated to protein-fed males than when mated to protein-deprived males.Our results suggest that female E.eluta can exert control of sperm retention of higher quality males through ejaculate ejection.

Comparative morphological study of reproductive system between Tipulidae and Limoniidae(Diptera： Tipuloidea)

In present paper, the morphological descriptions of reproductive systems for Libnotes（Libnotes） pseudonohirai Men, 2015 in both sexes are provided, which represents the first description of the internal reproductive system in this genus. The female internal reproductive system of Libnotes（Libnotes） pseudonohirai is compared with that of the two presently examined species, Hexatoma（Eriocera） cleopatroides Men, 2015 and Holorusia sp., as well as some species previously documented. The morphological differences of internal reproductive organs for these species are listed. Additionally, the characteristic modes of internal reproductive systems for Tipulidae and Limoniidae are compared and summarized.

Comparative morphological study of female internal reproductive system among nine species in the genus Tipula(Diptera: Tipulidae)

Female internal reproductive systems of nine species in the genus Tipula are described and illustrated,namely T.(Beringotipula)amurensis Alexander,1925,T.(Lunatipula)lunata Linnaeus,1758,T.(Lunatipula)submanca Savchenko,1964,T.(Pterelachisus)biaciculifera Alexander,1937,T.(Sivatipula)parvauricula Alexander,1941,T.(Vestiplex)longitudinalis Nielsen,1929,T.(Vestiplex)sternotuberculata Alexander,1935,T.(Yamatotipula)couckei Tonnoir,1921 and T.(Yamatotipula)marginella Theowald,1980.The morphological differences of internal reproductive organs for these species are listed.Additionally,taxonomic potential of some internal reproductive structures are analyzed and discussed.