Evaluation of spermatheca morphology and systematics of some Terellia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Tephritidae) species

Abstract

Spermatheca structures of four species, Terellia colon (Meigen, 1826), Terellia gynaecochroma (Hering, 1937), Terellia quadratula (Loew, 1869) and Terellia ruficauda (Fabricius, 1794), belonging to the genus Terellia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Tephritidae) were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The specimens were collected from various provinces in Turkey between 1999 and 2013. The samples were coated by gold/palladium with the Emitech SC 7620 Sputter Coater and examined with a Jeol 6390 LV SEM operated at 10 kV. The ultrastructure of the spermatheca for each of the studied species was described and differences between species were identified. The results add to the morphological variations recorded among these species.