Rhyncophorus Rhynchophorus palmarum L. (Linnaeus, 1758): A Morphological and Histological Study of the Female Reproductive System

Publication Type:Journal Article
:2011
Authors:M. Izabel Cam Mathias, Sanchez, P., Denardi, S. Eloisi, Caetano, F. Henrique
Journal:Microscopy Research and Technique
Volume:74
Pagination:853-862
Date Published:September
:1059-910X; 1097-0029
:Rhyncophorus palmarum
:

Rhyncophorus palmarum (Coleoptera) is a pest of great economic importance because of the damage caused in the plants of the Palmae family. This study showed that the female reproductive system of this beetle is composed of two ovaries of the telotrophic meroistic type invariably containing two ovarioles per ovary. Each ovariole is home to about 50 oocytes at different stages of maturation. The proximal region of the ovary is rather peculiar because it houses inside it a large quantity of bacilliform structures immersed in a glycolipoprotein substance, which has never before been described in the literature. The function of these structures is still unknown. However, it is suggested that they can function as a method of neutralizing the resistance of the plant because these insects are responsible for the transmission of the red ring disease to the palm plants.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith