title: Mechanism of hemolymph circulation in the pupal leg of tenebrionid beetle Zophobas atratus.
abstract: The long legs of insects require adequate hemolymph flow for maintaining their metabolism and functions. The visualization of hemolymph flow in a pupal leg of the tenebrionid beetle Zophobas atratus revealed that, in addition to a general circuit across all segments (podomeres) of the leg, there were two shortcut channels running within the femur, which is the largest podomere. A unidirectional hemolymph flow was forced by periodic pumping movements of the abdomen and regulated by a valve that exhibited a metamorphic change from a tongue-shaped to a flap-shaped structure. The results suggest that insects with a simple (open) circulatory system have evolved a sophisticated circulatory mechanism that distribute hemolymph adequately to the individual podomeres, which have diverse morphologies and functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan. tichiscb@kyushu-u.org <tichiscb@kyushu-u.org>
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D005121:Extremities / Q000502:physiology*; D006458:Hemolymph / Q000378:metabolism*; D011679:Pupa / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity