3.4. Re-establishment of ‘active copulatory readiness’ in mated
grasshopper females
Spermathecae of mated females contained anti-tubulin
immunoreactive structures that were dispersed throughout the
entire lumen and were interpreted as components of sperm
(Fig. 4b). In contrast, lumina of fertilization organs of virgin
females were entirely free of anti-tubulin immunoreactivity
(Fig. 4a). We detected anti-tubulin immunoreactivity in the
lumina of spermathecae of all 24 females that were used in this
experiment, indicating that all received a spermatophore including
sperm during the staged copulation at the beginning of the
experiment.