COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE, ET MODE DE FORMATION DES CONCRÉTIONS MINÉRALES DANS L'INTESTIN MOYEN DES HOMOPTERES CERCOPIDES

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Abstract
The granules which occur in the cells of a part of the mid-gut wall in Cercopid larvae and adults (Homoptera) were studied by biochemical and cytochemical methods and by electron microscopy. The granules have a diameter up to about 2[mu] and contain calcium, magnesium, iron, carbonates, and phosphates. Protein and acid muco-polysaccharide were also detected. A chromatographic study shows that uric acid and guanine are not present. The young concretions occur primarily in ergastoplasmic cisternae. They are 1st wholly electron-opaque, but their center becomes more and more clear. In very old spheres, only a thin shell of electron-opaque material remains. The spheres which have reached about 1 [mu] in diameter are all associated with myelin figures. The granule-containing cells, which nearly occlude the lumen of the midgut in larvae, are eliminated in the very young adults, but the storage excretion still continue in adults.