itself unfavourably both on the reproductive organs and in the life-ability 

 of the beetle. 



The close relation betлveen the development of reproductive organs and 

 the fat body can be observed also in females. Owing to the reduction of the 

 fat body which can be achieved also experimentally in laboratory conditions, 

 instead of three normal eggs in ovariola there appear only two, one or none, 

 regardless of extent of the nutrition in the fleding period. 



There seems to be no rest period in the development of the male reproductive 

 organs. If there should really exist a period of true imaginai diapause in males 

 it does not appear to influence either the reproductive organs or processes 

 jiroviding them with reserve materials necessary for their development. 



4. Development and function of the spermatophore 



The spermatop)hore is produced in the copulatory bag of male inserted 

 directly into bursa copulatrix of female. It originates by simple mixing of 

 products of accessory glands and those of genital duct. Individual components 

 as granulomatous red substance, hyaline green substance, basophil substance 

 of accessory glands as well as cyst cells and bundles of spermatozoa from testes 

 are originally regularly dispersed in the spermatophore. In the time period 

 between the 4 1/2 and 6th hour the development of spermatozoa is following: 

 the substances of the accessory glands secrete differentiate so that little groups 

 of hyaline green substance are formed growing larger in the granulous red basic 

 substance. Activated and separated spermatozoa form well visible clusters. 

 Hyaline substance utilized by spermatozoa begins to diminish. There appear 

 many small basophil drops. Activated spermatozoa begin to leave after 

 3 hours. 



The processes taking place in the spermatophore are ifluenced neither 

 by the producing male nor by the bursa copulatrix of female. They are induced 

 by simple mixing of products of accessory glands and genital duct. The proof 

 was brought by mixing both products and developing thus an artificial sperma- 

 tophore on which the whole process could be observed, particularly well the 

 differentiation of the accessory glands secrete and the activation of sperma- 

 tozoa. The activation of spermatozoa and the Avhole spermatophore process 

 takes place in perfectly anaerobic conditions in a nitrogen atmosphere. It cor- 

 responds to the lack of oxygène in the bursa copulatrix giving evidence 

 that the activation of spermatozoa in the spermatophore is not induced by 

 oxygen. 



It was ascertained that the activated spermatozoa passed from the spermato- 

 phore into the receptaculum seminis by means of Chemotaxis. Immediately 

 after the copulation the accessory gland is evacuated, receptaculum seminis 

 filled-up and the secrete penetrates in the other parts of female genital tract 



8 Syinpos. Evolutio Insectorum 113 



