Popis: |
Motoric activity of the receptacular complex situated in the caudal part of the female abdomen was studied in detail for the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus (Walker, 1869). By application of the previously introduced window method the number of peristaltic organ contractions per minute was counted, whereby four experimental series (virgins, mated females, ovipositing females, post-oviposition animals) were defined, with the number of examined crickets amounting to 20, respectively. According to the results obtained from experimental work, highest activity of the receptacular complex can be attested for females standing in the oviposition phase (26.35 ± 4.99 contractions per minute), whereas post-oviposition females are characterized by lowest activity (13.95 ± 3.90 contractions per minute). Except for virgins, where the number of peristaltic contractions increases with age, no significant correlation between motoric activity of the receptacular complex and adult age could be found. It is argued that in-vivo motoric activity of the receptaculum seminis and the ductus receptaculi is associated with the female fecundity cycle reaching its peak at the 10th day of the adult life stage. |