ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on selected aspects of the functions of the male insect reproductive system. In exopterygotes, the reproductive system, like other organ systems, grows steadily during the larval period; differentiation of the various components does not occur, however, until the final juvenile stadium. Prior to mating, a male coils his abdomen forwards so that the gonopore comes into contact with the intromittent organ on the third abdominal sternum, and a spermatophore is transferred. Spermatophores are usually presumed to have evolved in association with the taking up of terrestrial life by insect ancestors and have as their primary function the delivery of sperm to the female reproductive tract. The male internal organs comprise paired testes paired vasa deferentia and seminal vesicles, a median ejaculatory duct, and in most species, accessory glands of varied origin and complexity. The chapter provides the general composition and functions of insect seminal fluid.
