Large Spermatophore Production and Consumption in Dobsonflies Protohermes (Megaloptera, Corydalidae)

Males of Protohermes grandis and the closely related P. immaculatus attached spermatophores externally to the female's genitalia at copulation. Following separation the female bent and ate this large gelatinous spermatophore until detaching it from the genitalia. This process took more than two hours during which time the sperm, located in a section of the spermatophore, moved into the female's genital duct. The process of large spermatophore production and consumption in these Protohermes species is quite similar to the mating behaviour of some Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera).