Local and General Factors in the Development of “Pattern” in Rhodnius Prolixus (Hemiptera)

Abstract

Most studies on morphogenesis have been made upon composite structures, such as eyes or appendages, whose form is controlled by the co-operation of a great number of cells. In insects, however, the tiny fragment of cuticle laid down by a single cell may possess morphological characters controlled by the activities of that cell alone. The cuticle of insects provides, therefore, an unusually simple medium for the study of morphogenesis and the nature of those processes which “determine” the activity of a given cell.