THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE PERITROPHIC MEMBRANES OF CERTAIN INSECTS

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Abstract
Fragments of peritrophic membranes obtained by dissection and from oral exudates of Periplaneta americana were studied electron microscopically. The membranes were separated by standing and shaking in water into thin sheets of a fibrillar network. Ideally this network consists of three sets of parallel fibrillar strands placed at 60[degree] to each other. The size of the meshes is variable, but on the average the parallel strands are 0.15[mu] to 0.2[mu] apart. Each. strand consists of a variable number of fine fibrils (ca. 100 A wide). Defective formations range from distorted networks to quite irregular meshworks of fibrils. A nonfibrous constituent usually encrusts the network and may consist of protein. Certain networks resemble honeycombs and may consist mainly of the nonfibrous constituent. It is suggested that the network forms by deposition of fibrils onto a template surface having hexagonal symmetry. Networks were also found in Locusta migratoria and Galleria mellonella.

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