Cotton Leafperforator (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae): Female Reproductive System, Male Spermatophore, and Notes on Reproductive Biology

The female reproductive system and male spermatophore of the cotton leafperforator, Bucculatrix thruberiella Busck, were studied and described under magnification from laboratory-reared and wild individuals. Also, data were collected on time in copula, transfer of spermatophore, and sperm movement through the female reproductive system. As in most Lepidoptera, the female reproductive system consists of paired ovaries with four ovarioles per ovary, paired accessory glands, sperm duct, and bursa copulatrix. In virgin females the bursa copulatrix is a relatively large organ (ca. 0.76 mm in length and 0.24 mm in anterior by 0.36 mm in posterior width). During the copulatory process (ca. 66 min in copula), the bursa becomes greatly extended (ca. 1 mm in length by 0.92 mm in posterior width) and contains a very thin membraneous sac-like structure (spermatophore) that possesses both apyrene and eupyrene sperm. By 16 h after copulation the sperm have moved to the spermatheca and the spermatophore has become pear-shaped and opalescent in appearance.