Studies on Arthropod Cuticle. I. The Distribution of Chitin in Lepidopterous Scales, and its Bearing on the Interpretation of Arthropod Cuticle1,2

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A few years ago Anderson & Richards (1942) reported that the brilliant iridescent blue scales of the tropical butterfly Morpho cypris contain no chitin. The report, incidental to a study of scale architecture, was based on the usual test of solubility in hot concentrated alkali but also included the fact that electron micrographs of less drastically treated scales showed intermediate stages of dissolution. Being desirous of knowing whether or not this is generally true of insect scales, the present author performed tests on a series of specimens representing 109 species of 103 genera and 45 families of Lepidoptera in addition to scales of a mosquito and silverfish.3 Results were highly variable from one species to another and not always easy to duplicate. We were forced to conclude that lepidopterous scales may contain either large amounts or small amounts or no demonstrable chitin.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: