Summary
The thick rigid chorion of the egg of Triatoma secreted by the follicle cells shows two porous layers: an aerial layer in the exochorion, an alveolar one in the endochorion. The anterior part of the eggshell is closed up by an operculum which is heaved up by the hatching larva. The operculum has no alveolar layer. The air enters through the numerous holes of the shell surface into the aerial layer and through the micropyles into the alveolar layer. The egg has no respiratory plastron.
The follicle cells produce also a vitelline envelope whose structure shows a rapid condensation at fertilization time. During its development the embryo secretes two layers: serosal and embryonic cuticle.
At high humidities, at low temperatures the egg is able to increase its weight during the early stages of embryogenesis, and this increase stops when the serosal cuticle is secreted. In a dry atmosphere the egg loses water but can develop if the temperature is higher than 20°C.
The little permeability of the egg is related to the structure of its envelopes. The chorion and the vitelline envelope prevent the water from getting out of the egg. The serosal cuticle seems to be opposed to the penetration of the water into the egg. The role of the embryonic cuticle is probably limited in the transit of water.
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Nous remercions Messieurs les Professeurs Maillet et Folliot qui ont mis le microscope R.C.A. à notre disposition, Madame Allo et Mademoiselle Le Gac, technicienne au microscope à balayage J.S.M. S1, pour leur collaboration technique.
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Chauvin, G., Barbier, R. & Bernard, J. Ultrastructure de l'œuf de Triatoma infestans Klug. Z.Zellforsch 138, 113–132 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307082
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307082