Contributions to the knowledge of the retrocerebral complex and neurosecretory cells of some mosquitoes

Abstract

Separation of mosquito species on the basis of external morphology alone has often proved to be difficult. It seemed that a knowledge of the structure of the retrocerebral complex in different species might aid in their separation, especially as studies of chromosomes are unsatisfactory in this respect. This thesis describes the morphology of the retrocerebral complex of certain mosquito larvae, and discusses some of the associated physiological aspects. It is hoped that such a study will eventually throw additional light on the phylogenetic relationship of mosquitoes, but so far an insufficient number of species has been examined. A general description of the structure and function of the retrocerebral complex and of the neurosecretory cells of the brain is given here to clarify the literature review.