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PROTECT YOUR DNA WITH QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Orgo-Life the new way to the future Advertising by AdpathwayEp 51 and 53 Sex Pictures
May 27, 2026
Hey folks. Normally I record an episode and then develop the blog post based on what I've said. While usually that works well, this time I fell down several rabbit holes which, quite frankly while help with understanding the episodes, don't relate to them directly.
Namely, I found my old slides from 30 to 40 years ago - which include really interesting slides around histology (study of tissues) and other things. It was fun to dive into my compound microscope (for which I rarely use for insect identification) to show you some very cool stuff (like sperm cells, and chromosomes). It's also the case that while there are a million pics like this around the internet, I always like to use my own pictures - so these are from my old slides. Alright - so put on your smarty pants hat, and dig this shit.
OK, first we're going to start with some shots of onion root tissue slices. Teachers love this tissue for teaching about mitosis, because if you think about it, it is growing fast, and hence you are likely to see signs of cell division. To remind you, mitosis is the bread and butter cell division - which we use for growing, healing, replacing cells, etc. This is how cells reproduce on a day to day basis.
So there are a couple of things that are cool about this pic. Note how the nuclear is stained dark blue in most of the cells. That is because the stain binds to the DNA. Since it is dispersed throughout the nucleus, it appears relatively "solid".
But you will also see some cells where the stain forms clumped fibers. Those are cells where they are beginning to divide and the chromosomes (made of DNA) are starting to coalesce.
Then look at this picture:
See how in this picture the chromosomes of certain cells are "lined up". They are ready to split into two cells to form two identical sells. This is mitosis. In contrast, in meiosis, they form to cells with half the number of chromosomes, so they can combine with other sex cells (sperm or eggs) to form a new genetically different cell!
Speaking of chromosomes, check this out. These are chromosomes of Drosophila - or fruit flies - those annoying little flies that appear around your bananas or compost. This banded appearance represents areas of condensed DNA (dark bands). Folks like to make slides of these chromosomes because they form giant chromosomes and are easy to see in a standard light microscope.
OK, so my point is that all of this goes into the production of sex cells, namely sperm and eggs. I don't have any good pictures of the egg producing proces, but here is a picture of human testes - where sperm is produced.
Where what you see are lots of vessels (those clear areas surrounded by cells with stained nuclei. Those vessels are called seminal vesicles and are packed in the testes. The cells around the seminal vesicles (seen with their dark stained nuclei) produce sperm cells (which can often be seen, just not in this uncooperative individual). Those cells are produced via meiosis and turn into sperm cells. They way to think about it is that the outer cells on these seminal vesicles divide via meiosis with the various stages working their way towards the center or open part of the vesicle - where eventually sperm cells are released. Speaking of which, here are some bull sperm cells:
Obviously, these guy follow the typical mammal model - with a head and flagellum.
While I don't have a lot of slides with pictures of aquatic insect reproductive organs, I have some for the butterflies and moths. That will give you a sense of the variability across species and why they are useful in identification.
This first one is from a butterfly known as Edward's Hairstreak. At the top is the adeagus (or penis) and the structure below shows the claspers (that the male uses to hold onto the female).
In contrast, this is what a Spicebush Swallowtail male genitalia looks like. Where the claspers are on the top and the penis on the bottom. And then lastly:
This one is from a moth known as an Armyworm - (Pseudoletia unipuncta). Claspers on top, penis on bottom.
Looking at something that is more relevant to aquatic insects, here is a close up of the claspers on a Hex mayfly. The claspers are the pincer like organs below the tails:
OK, moving onto females. Unfortunately, I don't have any slides looking at the cells or tissues. But here is a picture of some of the ovipositors that insects use. (Ovipositors, remember, are the egg laying structures.
Here is a female cricket, so you can see the ovipositor sticking out the end.
Similarly, here is a conehead katydid - with a long sword shaped ovipositor.
This is the sawfly I mentioned in the podcast - this is Tremex columba or the pigeon horntail. These guys use that ovipositor to lay eggs in dying trees. There is another wasp, this guy here:
called Megarhyssa - or the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp (rolls off the tongue) that uses that crazy long ovipositor to insert eggs into the burrows carved by the larva of the prior wasp to parasitize the young. Incredible, isn't it.
Lastly, here is an example of an ovipositor converted into a stinger. This is one of the more dramatic ones. Look how long that sucker is.
This critter is called a velvet ant - even though it is actually a type of solitary wingless wasp. Their other common name is "cow killer" because their stings are so painful. I'm really impressed with that stinger - both in terms of how long it is, but also in terms of how fine it is. Not a fellow to mess with.
I think that is everything. I hope you all enjoyed this topic.
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