The Regulation of Osmotic Pressure and Chloride Concentration in the Haemolymph of Mosquito Larvae

Abstract

In an earlier paper (Wigglesworth, 1933b) it was shown that the cuticle of the mosquito larva Aedes aegypti (= argenteus) is permeable to water only at the anal papillae, and that water is taken in continuously by these organs and excreted by the Malpighian tubules; observations which were confirmed by Pagast (1936). But a more important function of the anal papillae has recently been made clear by Koch (1938), who has shown that in larvae of Chironomus and Culex they absorb chloride ions. They are able to take up chloride from very dilute solutions (0·001 M) and behave in this respect like the skin of frogs and other fresh-water animals as demonstrated by Krogh (1937).