Pathways and destination of some male gland secretions in female Locusta migratoria migratorioides (R&F) after insemination.

The white secretions (WS) from the tubules of the male accessory glands (AG) of Locusta migratoria are composed of peptides and proteins. The WS are transferred during mating to the female's spermatheca. They have been followed to their destinations with immunological and radioactive marker techniques. In the spermatheca, peptides are split off from WS-protein complexes, permeate the spermathecal epithelium via glandular cells, enter the hemolymph and attach to other proteins in various target organs such as the dorsal fat body, the preterminal/terminal oocytes, and the follicular cells. In developing eggs, they concentrate at the posterior pole where sperm enters the egg, and in early embryogenesis they are found in the germ band. These results extend the functions of the spermatheca and the role of the male during the reproductive process.