Liu Lu, Hua Bao-Zhen
State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management of the Education Ministry, Entomological Museum, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
Protoplasma. 2018 Jul;255(4):1121-1128. doi: 10.1007/s00709-018-1221-5. Epub 2018 Feb 10.
The larvae of Bittacidae, a cosmopolitan family in Mecoptera, have an interesting habit of spraying the body surface with soil through the anus after hatching, and each molts. The fine structure of Malpighian tubules, however, remains largely unknown in the larvae of Bittacidae to date. Here, we studied the ultrastructure of the larval Malpighian tubules in the hangingfly Terrobittacus implicatus (Huang & Hua) using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The larvae of T. implicatus have six elongate Malpighian tubules at the junction of the midgut and hindgut. The tubule comprises a basal lamina, a single-layered epithelium, and a central lumen. The basal plasma membranes of the epithelial cells are conspicuously infolded and generate a labyrinth. The epithelium consists of two types of cells: large principal cells and scattered stellate cells. Mitochondria and cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum are numerous in the principal cells but are sparsely distributed in the stellate cells, indicating that the principal cells are active in transport. On the other hand, spherites are only abundant in the principal cells and are likely associated with the soil-spraying habit of the larvae.
蚊蝎蛉科是长翅目昆虫中一个分布广泛的类群，其幼虫孵化后及每次蜕皮后都有一个有趣的习性，即通过肛门向体表喷洒土壤。然而，迄今为止，蚊蝎蛉科幼虫的马氏管精细结构仍 largely unknown。在此，我们利用扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜研究了隐斑盗蚊蝎蛉（Huang & Hua）幼虫马氏管的超微结构。隐斑盗蚊蝎蛉幼虫在中肠和后肠交界处有6根细长的马氏管。马氏管由基膜、单层上皮细胞和中央管腔组成。上皮细胞的基底质膜明显内陷，形成迷路状结构。上皮细胞由两种类型的细胞组成：大型主细胞和散在的星状细胞。主细胞中线粒体和粗面内质网池丰富，而星状细胞中分布稀疏，这表明主细胞在运输过程中活跃。另一方面，球状体仅在主细胞中丰富，可能与幼虫的土壤喷洒习性有关。
