Abstract
Although the musculature of the ptilinum has been studied extensively, no nervous components have been previously demonstrated. The present paper describes a series of minute hairs, interspersed amongst the ‘spinules’ that cover the organ, each of which is innervated by a bipolar sensory nerve cell. The axon arising from the sensory cell is joined by those from other similar cells, and they pass posteriorly to enter a ganglion; from the ganglion a broad nerve leaves to join the antennal nerve to the brain. The general morphology suggests that the hairs are tactile; this is substantiated by the ‘avoiding reactions’ displayed by the fly when the ptilinum is subjected to tactile stimulation, both when held experimentally, and in nature when by-passing soil particles.
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