Induced Ovarian Development in Decapitated Mosquitoes by Transfusion of Haemolymph

Ovarian development in mosquitoes appears to be under hormonal control. Evidence for this view has been derived from experiments involving removal of the endocrine organs assumed to be responsible for production of the hormone by decapitation or ligation of the thorax, before and after a critical period. (Detinova, 1945; Clements, 1956; Gillett, 1956b, 1957). Such evidence, however, even when supported by histological studies, is indirect and does not entirely exclude the possibility of alternative explanations; nor are the grounds for criticism removed when insects are joined in parabiosis (Wigglesworth, 1936, 1954; Williams, 1946). The present paper describes induction of ovarian development in mosquitoes, decapitated before the critical period, by transfusion of haemolymph from normal donors.