• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.120-133
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• 1989

The paraidehyde-fuchsin(PAE)-positive neurosecretory cells in the brains of wax moth Galleria mellonella have been morphologically examined at the six different metamorphic stages. During the metamorphosis, neurosecretory cells in the brain can be found in the five unclei of pars intercerebralis, lateral region of protocerebrum, optic lobe, deutocrebrum and tritocerebrum. The five nuelel include one to seven neurosecretory cells. On the bases of cell sizes and histochemical specificities of neurosercretion within cells, all the PAF-positive neurosercretory cells included in the six different metamorphic brains can be recognized as four species of neurosecretory cells as follows; (1) large (about 25 $\mu$m), neurosecretion-parcked cell (type I neurosecretory cell), (2) large, granule-dispersed cell (type II neurosecretury cell), (3) small (about 15 $\mu$m), neurosecretion-packed cell (type III neurosecretory cell), and (4) small, granule-dispersed cell (type IV neurose-cretory cell). The three tb seven medial neurosecretory cells are included in the pars intercerebralis of the six different metamorphic brains. With the increase of days from the late larva to the adult the type I cells of medial neurosecretory cells gradually decrease in number, but the respective three type II neurosecretory cells appear in the five different metamorphic brains except in pupa 2 day before the emeregnce of the adult which has only one type II. The one to five lateral neurosecretory cells are observed in the lateral region of protocerebrum from thepupa just after pupation to the adult. The type IV neurosecretory cells are the most in number of lateral neurosecretory cells. The one type Ineurosecretory cells are included near the optic lobe of only the 4-day-old pupa. the one deutocerebral neurosecretory cell, type II, appears only in the adult. The tritocerebrum includes both three neurosecretory cells in the late larva and one neuresecretory cell in the adult. In the late larva the two tritocerebral neurosecretory cells are type Ill neurosecretory cell and the one is type IV. The remaining one tritocerebral neurosecretory cell is type IV.