THE RETROCEREBRAL GLANDS OF MOSQUITO LARVAE

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Abstract
The comparative morphology of the retrocerebral gland complex of 10 genera of mosquito larvae, including 52 species, has been investigated. The complex consists of two distinct bodies attached to the transverse trachea in the anterior part of the prothorax. Each body is considered to be an association of the corpus allatum, the corpus cardiacum, and the prothoracic gland.In Aedes larvae the shape of the complex varies markedly between species and even within species. In Anopheles larvae it is elongated and flask-shaped; in Culiseta it is short and broad, ending distally in one or more line points; in Culex it is small and triangular. In Psorophora larvae it varies greatly in shape and size, being large in predacious forms, small in non-predacious; it may be sac-like or pointed at the end. In Mansonia perturbans it is small and spindle-shaped; in Wyeomyia hanyei it is small and U-shaped; in Orthopodomyia signifera, small and triangular. In Toxorhynchites rutilus, a predacious form, it is narrow and unusually large. In Opifex fusca it is triangular, with the inner lateral margin as the base.Not only may the complex vary in size and shape within a species, but even within a specimen the two bodies may differ to a remarkable degree.

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