Histochemical studies on the male accessory gland of Acrida turrita (Insecta: Orthoptera)

The male accessory reproductive glands of Acrida turrita includes fifteen pairs of tubules opening into the ejaculatory duct. Four of them are white and eleven hyaline glands. Histochemically the hyaline glands are further differentiated into seven types (HG1-HG7). The secretion of all the glands taken together includes polysaccharide (neutral mucopolysaccharide, chondroitin sulphate and sialomucin), protein (-NH2 and -SH groups, and tyrosine, histidine, tryptophan and arginine amino acids) and neutral lipid. The possible role of the accessory glands based on their histochemical analysis, has been speculated.