A Modified Wright's Blood-Staining Procedure for Smears of Heat-Fixed Insect Blood

A number of authors have reported investigations either on insect blood or at least involving a study of insect blood (hemolymph). Many of these publications2 have included observations or data on the occurrence of various types of insect blood cells. Some have included descriptions of the use of fixed and stained smears of insect blood (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, IS, 19, 22, 23).3 A few (3, 6, 12, 14, 17, 22, 23) have contained values for the percentages of certain cell types in the blood-cell populations that were studied. Most of the investigations utilizing insect blood smears, however, have indicated little recognition of the factors that must be considered to influence the insect differential blood-cell count. These are similar to the factors recognized as influencing the mammalian differential bloodcell count plus those resulting from the characteristic tendency of many of the insect blood cells to undergo rapid and drastic morphological transformations at the time of blood sampling and blood smearing.