The Tarsal Chemoreceptor Response of the Housefly, Musca Domestica L., to Sucrose and Levulose1

Abstract

For some years, it has been known that organs of taste are present on the mouth parts of some insects. More recently, however, it has been asserted that chemoreceptors, which perform the function of taste, are present on their tarsal segments. Minnich (1921) observed that certain nymphalid butterflies while walking over a substratum were able to detect food materials with which they came in contact. Following this, it was shown that a number of other insects possess chemoreceptors on the tarsal segments which perform the function of taste. This report presents a part of the work now being conducted on the tarsal chemoreceptor responses of the house fly to baits and the poisons used in them.