SALIVARY GLANDS OF FEMALE CULEX PIPIENS: MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH MATURATION AND BLOOD-FEEDING

Abstract

The salivary glands of female Culex pipiens L each consist of three lobes divisible into five regions. Fine structure indicates that two regions may be involved in solute-linked water transport and three regions may have a glandular function. The fine structure is similar to that reported for Anopheles stephensi and Aedes aegypti. In C. pipiens, an axon of presumed neurosecretory function was found associated with the neck region of the medial lobe.Complete development of the salivary glands occurs between the first and fifth days of adulthood. Morphological changes associated with blood-feeding were limited to the presence or absence of the salivary secretions in the apical cavities and duct lumen. During blood-feeding the contents of two of the glandular regions are voided, being replenished within 24 h Results are related to previous histochemical studies of the salivary glands of mosquitoes.