The Absorption Of Chloride Ions By The Anal Papillae Of Diptera Larvae

Abstract

Until recently the respiratory function of the anal papillae of Diptera larvae was unquestioned; they were generally called “anal gills”. There has been, however, much discussion concerning the part played by these organs in the uptake of oxygen. Using Protozoa as indicators of oxygen tension, Fox (1920) proved that the uptake of oxygen was only slightly, if at all, higher in these organs than in the other parts of the skin. Wigglesworth (1933a) investigated, by the same method, the respiratory uptake in Aedes and obtained similar results.