An Inside Look At Insect Mating

Posted on October 27, 2015 by jjneal

Advances in visualization techniques now allow us to image the inside of living organisms.  A group of scientists* made CT scans of mating Drosophila and were able to observe previously unknown changes that occur in the female reproductive tract during and after mating.  These powerful imaging techniques are changing the way we view insects and providing the data for new ideas and avenues of research.

*Alexandra L. Mattei, Mark L. Riccio, Frank W. Avila & Mariana F. Wolfner. 2015. Integrated 3D view of postmating responses by the Drosophila melanogaster female reproductive tract, obtained by micro-computed tomography scanning.
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1505797112

Mating Drosophila

CT Scan of Mating Drosophila

See the entire video:  http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2015/06/03/1505797112.DCSupplemental

About jjneal

Jonathan Neal is a retired Associate Professor of Entomology at Purdue University and author of the textbook, Living With Insects (2010). This blog is a forum to communicate about the intersection of insects with people and policy. This is a personal blog. The opinions and materials posted here are those of the author and are in no way connected with those of my employer.
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1 Response to An Inside Look At Insect Mating

  1. Pingback: An Inside Look At Insect Mating | Living With Insects Blog

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