Studi recenti sugli organi di senso dei Diaspididae (Coccoidea)

SENSE ORGANS IN DIASPIDIDAE, RECENT DATA AND PERSPECTIVES

This paper reports the recent acquisitions on the morphology of sensilla of Diaspididae and their functional interpretation. Mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors are described and recognized on the basis of the presence, placement and number of wall pores; placement on the insect’s body and absolute size of sensilla is considered of interest indeed. The functional interpretation of these specialized sense organs is draft regarding to the peculiar life-style of the Diaspididae.

The morphology, function and importance as experimental system of the antennal sensillum in adult female Diaspis echinocacti (Bouché) is stressed. Possible use of the primitive or derivative status of the antennal seta morphology is proposed as a cue to study Diaspididae phylogenesis. Future researches will report about the nature of the so-called “knobbed seta”, still uncertain because of technical difficulties in TEM observation, and confirm the reduction as the major phylogenetic trend of Diaspididae female.