The structure and probable function of the internal cuticular parts of Johnston's organ in mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti)

Abstract

Although the flagellum of the antennae of mosquito-like insects is known to vibrate in response to sounds, descriptions of the cuticular parts that suspend it in the second antennal segment are somewhat contradictory and incomplete. The complex structures that attach the base of the flagellum to the pedicel and its sense cells in Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) are described. They are consistent with the functions of suspending the flagellum firmly in the pedicel and of anchoring the sheathing rods of the acoustically sensitive scolopidia while their dendrites are stretched or bent by the movement of the prongs.