... transfer of sperm via the insertion of part of the male’s aedeagus (edeagus), the penis, into the repro-ductive tract of the female. In males of many species the extrusion of the aedeagus during ... oviposition in insects. 5.1 BRINGING THE SEXES TOGETHER Insects often are at their most conspicuous when syn-chronizing the time and place for mating. The flashinglights of fireflies, the singing of crickets, ... allow the valvesto slide back and forth on one another. Such move-ment, and sometimes also the presence of serrations on the tip of the ovipositor, is responsible for the pier-cing action of the...