OBLR Dissections

Choristoneura rosaceana

OBLR Dissections

The following are pictures and descriptions of female OBLR moths dissected to assess mating success in orchards using an experimental mating disruption product. Dissections are performed by gently tearing the distal end of the abdomen away from the rest using forceps or other dissecting equipment. Often times, fat bodies and other internal organs must be removed to adequately see the reproductive system.

This picture shows a spermatheca from a mated female (top) compared to that of an unmated female (bottom). Spermatheca from mated females are much larger and when dissected contain a spermatophore (from male).

Here is a spermatheca from a newly mated female. It is cream colored and spherical with a long tube conecting it to the opening at the end of the abdomen.

This is a spermatheca from a female that had been mated long before it was dissected. The overall color tends to be gray to brown and the spherical end is much more "deflated".

Comments or Questions? nobby@wsu.edu
Last updated July 18, 1999

This picture shows a spermatheca from a mated female (top) compared to that of an unmated female (bottom). Spermatheca from mated females are much larger and when dissected contain a spermatophore (from male).
Here is a spermatheca from a newly mated female. It is cream colored and spherical with a long tube conecting it to the opening at the end of the abdomen.
This is a spermatheca from a female that had been mated long before it was dissected. The overall color tends to be gray to brown and the spherical end is much more "deflated".
Comments or Questions? nobby@wsu.edu	Last updated July 18, 1999