Abstract
ALMOST all foreign bodies introduced into the haemocoele of an insect evoke a haemocytic reaction whereby they are surrounded and encapsulated by blood cells. An exception is provided by certain parasites: the eggs and larvae of ichneumonid parasitoids develop in their usual hosts without causing any such reaction. The ability of eggs of Nemeritis canescens to avoid a defence reaction in caterpillars of Ephestia kuehniella was investigated by Salt1, who found that a property of the surface acquired by the egg during its passage through the genital ducts of the adult parasite enabled the egg to escape a haemocytic reaction. Salt traced the source of this protective property to a particular region of the genital tract, the calyx.
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References
Salt, G., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 162, 303 (1965).
Salt, G., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 165, 155 (1966).
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ROTHERAM, S. Immune Surface of Eggs of a Parasitic Insect. Nature 214, 700 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/214700a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/214700a0
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