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Females of Phyllophaga obsoleta (Blanchard) (Coleóptera: Scarabaeoidea: Melolonthidae) perform "sexual calling" with their protractile genital chamber (PGC) exposed to release substances that attract males. Histological aspects of the PGC and accessory glands ( AGs) of P. obsoleta females were studied. Studies with light microscope and transmission electron microscope revealed exocrine tissue in the posterior section of the PGC, where it might be producing the attractants. This epithelial gland is formed by a basement membrane, a hypodermis for substance production, secretion, and transport (cells, nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Colgi complex, and presence of folds in the plasma membrane), as well as evidence of the substance to be secreted to the outside (connecting cuticular pores to plasma membrane). Histological similarities between AG types I and II were observed, although only the PGC had properties of class I cells. These results suggest that the posterior section of the P. obsoleta PGC is involved in sex pheromone production.

We investigated the morphology and morphometry of eggs from the colonies of the Entomology Laboratory at ENCB-IPN belonging to six species of the genus Meccus and Triatoma recurva, using both light and scanning electron microscopy. Egg ornamentation is an important parameter to consider in the differentiation of species. Samples were observed under a scanning electron microscope. Measurements of fifty eggs per species included length, width, and opercular diameter, which were used for the morphometric analysis. The results showed that the seven species display a polygonal ornamentation dominated by hexagons; the operculum shows also a polygonal ornamental characteristic in each species. Morphometry provided valuable information for discriminating between closely related species of the genus Meccus and Triatoma recurva, a species akin to this group, thereby facilitating the complete discrimination of these species. Journal of Vector Ecology 41 (1): 135-141. 2016.