Neurosecretory cells of third-instar larvae of Anastrepha obliqua Macquart (Diptera, Tephritidae)

Abstract

Neurosecretory cells of the nervous system of third-instar larvae of Anastrepha obliqua Macquart, 1835 were located and described histomorphologically. Six groups of neurosecretory cells were identified in the brain and one group in the ventral ganglion. The groups differed in position, cell size and staining characteristics. Four of these groups appear to he active throughout the third instar and three, from the prepupal period