The food moves along the tube until it reaches an enlarged area called the crop, where it is temporarily stored and partly digested. The the food passes into the gizzard, which has thick muscular walls that contract and grind the food into small bits. The food then passes into the midgut, where most digestion takes place. Nourishing parts of the food are absorbed into the blood, and wastes and undigested parts move into the hindgut. All wastes and extra water that enter the hindgut leave the body through the anus.
Most insects reproduce sexually.
A new individual is produced sexually when the female eggs produced in the ovaries has united with male sperm produced in the testes. During mating, the female receives the sperm and stores them in her abdomen. Later, when she lays her eggs, the sperm enter the eggs as they leave her body. Insect eggs have a variety of shapes and color patterns, but most are oval or round and are white or cream colored. The number of eggs laid varies greatly from one species to another.