Figure 5.

Hemocytes at the thoraco-abdominal ostia and the posterior excurrent openings are phagocytic. (A,B) Intact adult mosquito showing that E. coli-GFP (green) co-localizes with hemocytes (CM-DiI; red) that surround the thoraco-abdominal ostia (A; dotted square; inset) and the posterior excurrent openings of the heart (B; dotted circle). (C,D) Intact adult mosquito showing that hemocytes that surround the thoraco-abdominal ostia (C) and the posterior excurrent openings of the heart (D) phagocytose E. coli-pHrodo (red). (E,F) Adult mosquitoes showing phagocytic hemocytes (E. coli-pHrodo) on the muscle (phalloidin; green) surrounding the thoraco-abdominal ostia in intact (E) and dissected (F) specimens. (G) Dissected adult mosquito showing that phagocytic hemocytes are not always present at the thoraco-abdominal ostia. In panels (D,G), phagocytic hemocytes can be seen in the periostial regions of the 7th and 2nd abdominal segments, respectively (solid circles). Scale bars: 100 μm.