title: Visualization of early embryos of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana.
abstract: We report on the first attempts, using both light and fluorescence microscopy, to visualize the developing embryo of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. We developed a new protocol that enabled the clear visualization of the internal egg structures in early embryogenesis (1-24 h after egg laying). Dechorionation was followed by fixation and physical dissection of the external egg structures. Observations of embryonic and extra-embryonic cells were made using a Hoechst nuclear stain that fluoresces in the blue spectrum when bound to DNA and excited with ultraviolet (UV) light under a fluorescence microscope. Preliminary data on the developmental rate of the early embryo are also presented.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
authors.forename: Jarod
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Masci
authors.forename: Antónia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006690:Bisbenzimidazole; D002080:Butterflies / Q000196:embryology*; D002823:Chorion / Q000378:metabolism; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D015053:Zygote / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D006690:Bisbenzimidazole