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Vol. 47 No. 4, 2008
Morphological Characterization of Hemocytes in the Adult Linden Bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus (L.) (Heteroptera)
Josef Berger1,* and Klára Slavíčková2
1Faculty of Health and Social Studies University of South Bohemia, Emy Destinové, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
2Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Josef Berger and Klára Slavíčková (2008) The morphology of hemocytes of the adult linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus
(L.) (Heteroptera) was characterized via light (both classical and
confocal) and transmission electron microscopy. Based on this
characterization, we classified hemocytes into 4 distinct types:
prohemocytes, granulocytes, plasmatocytes, and spherulocytes.
Differential hemocyte counts are described. We propose using the
Pappenheim panoptic stain to identify different hemocyte populations of
P. apterus. These results are the beginning building blocks of a knowledge base for our ongoing studies of the function of P. apterus hemocytes.
As certain morphological characteristics are similar to mammalian blood
cells which are used in hemotoxicological safety screening, the use of P. apterus as a new hematotoxicological biomodel is suggested.
Key words: Pyrrhocoris apterus, Hemocyte, Morphology, Cytochemistry.
*Correspondence: E-mail:berger@jcu.cz
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