Uric acid storage and excretion by accessory sex glands of male cockroaches

Abstract Large amounts of uric acid are stored in the utriculi majores of the accessory sex glands of males of Blattella germanica, Blattella vaga, Onychostylus notulatus, Lophoblatta n. sp., Xestoblatta immaculata, Cariblatta minima, Epilampra columbiana , and Audreia gatunae . Most of this uric acid is poured over the spermatophore during copulation. The accessory sex gland complex of male cockroaches serves a reproductive function by secreting substances which form the sperm capsule. But in the above species, the utriculi majores serve as storage excretory organs of uric acid between matings and as active excretory organs during copulation. Uric acid was not detected in the male reproductive systems of thirty-two other species of Blattaria. The known distribution of uricose glands in the Blattaria indicates that these organs were present in the blattellid-blaberid stock and have been lost in some blattellids and most blaberids.