DOI: 10.17097/agricultureatauni.1823686 ISSN: 2979-9686

Development of ovarioles in the ovary of Eulasia arctos anatolica (Reitter, 1903) (Coleoptera: Glaphyridae)

Nurcan Özyurt Koçakoğlu, Hicret Arslan, Selami Candan, Doğan Erhan Ersoy
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Eulasia arctos anatolica, belonging to the Coleoptera order and among the first insects to visit flowers, is associated with plant species such as Onopordum and Euphorbia, playing a significant role in floral ecology and pollination processes. Therefore, in this study, the histological and anatomical structures of the female reproductive system of E. arctos anatolica were examined for the first time using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The female reproductive system of E. arctos anatolica includes a pair of ovaries, each with six telotrophic meroistic ovarioles, a pair of lateral oviducts, a common oviduct, and a genital chamber. SEM revealed that ovarioles are enclosed by a reticulated sheath from the suspensory ligament to the pedicel, with tracheal networks on the sheath surface. Each ovariole contains three to four oocytes; the choriogenic oocyte, located near the pedicel, is larger and anthracite, while the others are whitish. Ovarioles anterior ends are attached to the abdomen wall via the suspensory ligament. Histology of the germarium showed trophocytes, prefollicular cells, young oocytes, and nutritive cord. Early-stage oocytes lacked yolk granules and were surrounded by a single layer of cuboidal to short columnar follicular epithelium. In a late-stage oocyte, the ooplasm was filled with acidophilic yolk granules, and oocytes were encircled by flattened epithelial cells; chorion formation was evident. The pedicel was lined by a single layer of epithelium. This study contributes to the understanding of ovariol development in flower-visiting Coleoptera species and provides fundamental data on the reproductive biology and ecological functions of this group.

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