Tactile orientation by mating males of the staphylinid beetle, Aleochara curtula, relative to the setal fields of the female

ABSTRACT. In contact orientation on the female, the male Aleochara curtula moves its tongs-shaped parameres to the tip of the female's abdomen. The male is directed by tactile stimuli from the direction of the setae on the female. These setae are distributed over the female's entire surface, and their additional function as a guide in the complex sex specific orientation system has not caused detectable structural specialization.