X-ray micro-CT scanning reveals temporal separation of male harm and female kicking during traumatic mating in seed beetles

In the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus , the male intromittent organ is covered in sharp spines that pierce the female copulatory tract wall during mating. Although the fitness consequences of traumatic mating are well studied in this species, we know much less about how the male and female genitalia interact during mating. This is partly due to the fact that genital interactions occur primarily inside the female, and so are difficult to...