Abstract
Lepidoptera together with its sister group Trichoptera belongs to the superorder Amphiesmenoptera, which is closely related to the Antliophora, comprising Diptera, Siphonaptera, and Mecoptera. In the lepidopteran Pieris napi, a representative of the family Pieridae, the ovaries typical of butterflies are polytrophic and consist of structural ovarian units termed ovarioles. Each ovariole is composed of a terminal filament, germarium, vitellarium, and ovariole stalk. The germarium houses developing germ cell clusters and somatic prefollicular and follicular cells. The significantly elongated vitellarium contains linearly arranged ovarian follicles in successive stages of oogenesis (previtellogenesis, vitellogenesis, and choriogenesis). Each follicle consists of an oocyte and seven nurse cells surrounded by follicular epithelium. During oogenesis, follicular cells diversify into five morphologically and functionally distinct subpopulations: (1) main body follicular cells (mbFC), (2) stretched cells (stFC), (3) posterior terminal cells (pFC), (4) centripetal cells (cpFC), and (5) interfollicular stalk cells (IFS). Centripetal cells are migratorily active and finally form the micropyle. Interfollicular stalk cells derive from mbFC as a result of mbFC intercalation. Differentiation and diversification of follicular cells in Pieris significantly differ from those described in Drosophila in the number of subpopulations and their origin and function during oogenesis.
Highlights
Lepidoptera is one of the largest insect orders, including about 160,000 described species
Zone I is the most apical part of the germarium, in which the germ cells differentiate into cystoblasts and divide mitotically
Previous investigations indicate that in Lepidoptera, follicular epithelium diversifies into several different subpopulations: cells covering the oocyte, cells surrounding the nurse cells, and cells migrating between the nurse cells and oocyte compartments (Yamauchi and Yoshitake 1984b; Santos and Gregório 2006)
Summary
Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) is one of the largest insect orders, including about 160,000 described species. Hundreds of new lepidopteran species have been described annually in recent years (Kristensen et al 2007). Despite the species richness of the Lepidoptera, they are far more homogeneous, structurally and ecologically, than the other larger insect groups (Diptera, Coleoptera). Given their popularity associated with their visual attractiveness, the life histories and geographic distributions of Lepidoptera are probably the best known among insects. The Pieridae is a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera, containing about 1100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia. The European fauna includes about 50 species, of which 17 live in Poland
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