spermatheca

American  

[spur-muh-thee-kuh] / ˌspɜr məˈθi kə /

noun

Zoology.

plural

spermathecae

1. a small sac or cavity in female or hermaphroditic invertebrates used to store sperm for fertilizing eggs, as in the queen bee.

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spermatheca British  

/ ˌspɜːməˈθiːkə /

noun

1. a sac or cavity within the body of many female invertebrates, esp insects, used for storing spermatozoa before fertilization takes place

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spermatheca Scientific  

/ spûr′mə-thē′kə /

plural

spermathecae

1. A receptacle in the reproductive tracts of certain female invertebrates, especially insects, in which spermatozoa are received and stored until needed to fertilize the ova.

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Other Word Forms

• spermathecal adjective

Etymology

Origin of spermatheca

1820–30; sperma- (variant of spermato-, spermo- ) + theca

Example Sentences

Some insects have a specialized sac, called a spermatheca, which stores sperm for later use, sometimes up to a year.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

"We don't yet know what allows sperm to migrate beyond the spermatheca," Cutter said, referencing the female organ where fertilization takes place.

From The Verge • Jul. 29, 2014

These matriarchs were reproductively mature, but their spermatheca, chambers that store sperm postmating, remained bone dry, says Christian Rabeling, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and a co-author of one of the 2009 studies.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 18, 2011

In descending the oviduct to be deposited in the cells, they pass by the mouth of this seminal sac or spermatheca, and receive a portion of its fertilizing contents.

From Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee A Bee Keeper's Manual by Langstroth, L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine)

The column of such orchids must act almost like the spermatheca of insects.

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir