Abdominal sterna with paired median plates and a parasternal plate, all with stiff setae of varying size.
Extraction of the spermatheca from the terminal segments of the abdomen is best accomplished by peeling the terga away from the sterna of the terminal segments.
Thoracic sterna smooth except for a narrow mat zone on the posterior two.
The sternum (pl. sterna) is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen.
Variation of this ground plan includes the fusion of terga or terga and sterna to form continuous dorsal or ventral shields or a conical tube.
In the monotrysian type there is an opening on the fused segments of the sterna 9 and 10, which act as insemination and oviposition.
The males would press their gastral sterna against a perch and rub their mandibular against it.
In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external.
