Oviducts of several females were flushed by means of a pipette to
determine whether they contained sperm. Approximately half of the
females captured in May, 1956, had sperm in their oviducts, but
females captured in June and July did not. Sperm flushed from the
oviducts were in clumps of several hundred and showed no sign of
motility a few minutes after the female was anesthetized with
chloroform. No sperm were found in the oviducts of immature females
but one female of nearly adult size was observed in copulation with a
mature male.
Thorough examination of microscopic sections of oviduct (taken at
various times in the season of activity) usually revealed a few sperm
lodged in the folds (Pl. 19, Fig. 8) of the cephalic as well as the
caudal portion of the tube, but no specialized seminal receptacles
such as occur in snakes (Fox, 1956) were present. Fertilization
without reinsemination probably occurs in _T. ornata_. Ewing (1943)
and Finneran (1948:126) reported that females of _T. carolina_
produced fertile eggs for periods of four and two years, respectively,
after being removed from all contact with males.