A comparison of aldehyde fuchsin and alcian blue staining of neurosecretory material in Oncopeltus fasciatus.

The dynamics of the "A" cells of the parsintercerebralis of Oncopeltus fasciatus over the first eight days of adult life was studied by microspectrophotometry of sections stained either with aldehyde fuchsin or alcian blue 8 GX. The data show that the two stains differ in their selectivity as they record different events in the history of the cells. A hypothesis is proposed that the aldehyde fuchsin is more sensitive to the presence of a "carrier" protein in the cell, whereas alcian blue 8 GX is more sensitive to the presence of the "active principle" in the cell.