Post emergence maturation of the eye of the adult black carpet beetle, Attagenus megatoma (Fab.): An electron microscope study

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Abstract
The black carpet beetle, Attagenus megatoma (Fab.), has been reported to exhibit negative phototaxis immediately after emergence. In later adult life, after the period during which most oviposition has occurred, the beetles are found to be photopositive. The compound eyes of one‐day‐old (Post‐emergence) and nine‐day‐old (Post‐ovipositional) female beetles were studied by electron microscopy and a number of strong differences were found between eyes at the two ages. The corneal facets of one‐day eyes had the form of convex‐concave lenses, while those of nine‐day beetles were double‐convex lenses. The primary and secondary pigment cells of young eyes were large and contained much endoplasmic reticulum and little accessory pigment. In the older eyes the pigment cells were reduced and contained much pigment, the proportion of endoplasmic reticulum being greatly reduced by comparison with the one‐day eye. The cross‐sectional area of the rhabdom was greater in the older eye.The possible relationships between age‐related changes in eye morphology and behavioral changes during the same period are discussed.