Origin, course and destination of the peripheral nerves of the beetleChilocorus nigritusFabr. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Abstract

Summary The brain and suboesophageal ganglion are placed very close to each other and give off two and three pairs of nerves respectively. The thorax has prothoracic, mesothoracic and a thoracoabdominal ganglionic mass. Each of the former two ganglia gives three pairs of nerves and the last gives five pairs of nerves. The ganglionic mass is the result of the fusion of metathoracic and first abdominal ganglia of the larva. The abdomen has a free and a fused terminal ganglia situated in the first and second abdominal segments respectively. The former gives one pair of lateral nerves, whereas the latter gives five paired and a median unpaired nerves in the female and six paired nerves in the male. The terminal ganglion is made by the fusion of the fourth to the ninth abdominal ganglia of the larva. The pathways and destination of different nerves is studied in detail.