Angelika M. Oppelt and Jürgen Heinze. Biologie I, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg, 93040, Germany
Reproductive strategies and sexual selection are hot topics throughout evolutionary and behavioral biology, but receive comparatively little attention in social Hymenoptera. This is because mating is usually separated from social life and typically occurs only during a short period of time and away from the nest. In the ant Leptothorax gredleri Mayr 1855 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) sexuals meet and mate in the “female calling syndrome”. Mating therefore can be elicited and observed in small flight cages. Matings between males and virgin queens lasted for approximately one minute. Single-mated queens were frozen in various time intervals after copulation, their abdomens were fixed in alcoholic Bouin-Solution, embedded in Durcopan, and sectioned using a Reichert-Jung microtome. Semi-thin sections were stained with Mallory’s solution according to Richardson et al. 1960 Stain Technol. 35: 313-325. Semi-thin sections revealed that the sperm mass transferred to the female is coated by an as yet unidentified gel-like substance, which might function as a spermatophore. While the sperm is located in the tip of the spermatophore and not immediately released, the posterior part of the spermatophore seals the junction between the bursa copulatrix and the spermathecal duct. Later, sperm migrates towards and is stored in the spermatheca, whereas the spermatophore starts to dissolve.
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