Ultramorphology and histology of the larval salivary gland of Pachycondyla villosa (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Ponerinae)

Abstract

Utramorfologia e Histologia da Glândula Salivar Larval de Pachycondyla villosa (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Ponerinae)RESUMO -A glândula salivar apresenta-se com um duto anterior único, formado por um epitélio colunar, dois dutos laterais curtos, os quais apresentam-se com epitélio cúbico simples e que na sua porção mais proximal torna-se colunar. Posterior a estes, encontram-se os dois reservatórios, os quais possuem o epitélio bastante delgado e é neste reservatório que a região secretora da glândula se abre. Os ramos dorsal e ventral da região secretora da glândula conectam-se por meio de comissuras transversais, sendo que, posteriormente, a região secretora termina em forma de "alça". A região secretora é uniforme, não apresenta tipos celulares distintos e é formada por um epitélio cúbico simples. Neste trabalho é apresentada, também, a revisão sobre a morfologia da glândula salivar larval em insetos, principalmente com relação aos Hymenoptera-Aculeata. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Insecta, formiga, MEV, morfologiaABSTRACT -The salivary gland possesses a single anterior duct with a columnar epithelium, two lateral ducts with simple cubical epithelium, which becomes columnar in the proximal portion, and two thin-walled reservoirs, from which two secretory regions arise. The dorsal and ventral branches of the secretory regions are connected via transverse commissures and ends in a loop. The secretory region is uniform and consists on a simple cubical epithelium. This paper also presents a review on the morphology of the salivary glands in insects, mainly in Hymenoptera-Aculeata.

Histology of the LarvalNeodiprion abietis(Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) Digestive Tract

“…Salivary glands of sawflies and higher Hymenoptera are labial glands. Unlike the salivary glands of sawflies, where the gland cells are clearly evident on the salivary glands [10,39], the gland cells of higher Hymenoptera have been incorporated into the lining of the salivary ducts [40]. In addition to the production of saliva, the salivary glands of sawflies may also function as silk glands for cocoon production in some groups, such as Xyelidae, Cephidae, and Tenthredinoidae (except Blasticotomidae) but not others, for example, Pamphiliidae, Siricidae, and Xiphydriidae (see [41]).…”

Nest architecture of Pachycondyla striata Fr. Smith, 1858 (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

“…Underground nests of P. striata differ markedly from the tree nests of P. goeldii described by Orivel et al (1998), as well as from nests of P. villosa associated with bromeliads (Caetano et al, 2002;Wild, 2002;Zara and Caetano, 2003;Delabie et al, 2008), and are not as architecturally elaborate as Harpegnathos saltator nests (which are coated with paper) and represent a large energy investment .…”

Fine structure of the alimentary canal of the larval blow fly Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

“…The similarity consists of having simple, tubular glands opening into narrow efferent ducts on each side that converge to form a single median deferent duct leading to the oral cavity. At the ultrastructural level, the composition of the salivary gland of C. megacephala larvae appears to be comparable to that of the secretory region of the lateral duct of the larval salivary gland of the ant, P. villosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as described by Zara and Caetano (2003). It consists primarily of simple cuboidal epithelium cells and contains fibrous material that is most likely salivary secretion within its lumen (see Fig.…”

“…To date, many researchers have reported the ultrastructure of various alimentary organs of numerous groups of arthropods. These include mosquitoes, Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Zieler et al 2000;Moncayo et al 2005), Culex quinquefasciatus (Sais et al 2003); sand flies, Lutzomyia longipalpis (Secundino et al 2005), Lutzomyia intermedia (Andrade-Coêlho et al 2001); bot fly, Dermatobia hominis (Evangelista and Leite 2003); black fly, Simulium pertinax (Cavados et al 2004); fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Lee et al 1998;Hung et al 2000); ticks, Haemaphysalis longicornis (Matsuo et al 2003), Ixodes ricinus (Jasik and Buczek 2005), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Nunes et al 2005); mite, Platytrombidium fasciatum (Shatrov 2005); ants, Tetraponera (Billen and Buschinger 2000), Solenopsis saevissima (Arab and Caetano 2002), Pachycondyla villosa (Zara and Caetano 2003); reduviid bug, Triatoma infestans (Reis et al 2003); beetles, Dendroctonus (Silva-Olivares et al 2003), Odontotaenius disjunctus (Nardi et al 2006); and a moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Gerard 2002). In the present study, observations of the morphology of the alimentary canal of C. megacephala larvae were carried out to the ultrastructural level to clarify their morphological composition and better understand the functional role of each associated organ.…”