Table 1. Insect hemocyte terminology.

Function	Drosophila melanogaster (and related ‘oriental’ subgroup species)	Other drosophilids	Mosquitoes	Lepidopterans(similar terminology in other insect orders)
Phagocytes	Plasmatocytes	Plasmatocytes	Granulocytes/ granular cells	Granulocytes/ granular cells
Melanization	Crystal cells	Oenocytoids (commonly called ‘crystal cells,’ but they lack crystals)	Oencytoids	Oencytoids
Encapsulation	Lamellocytes	Other encapsulating cell types: Nematocytes Multinucleated giant hemocytes Pseudopodocytes Activated plasmatocytes	—	Plasmatocytes (not homologous to Drosophila plasmatocytes – uncertain homology to Drosophila lamellocytes, as discussed in the text)
?	Primocytes (novel class)	?	?	?
Cuticle formation?	—	—	—	Spherule cells
Hemocyte precursors	Prohemocytes (In lymph gland; few, if any, in circulation)	?	Prohemocytes	Prohemocytes (in hematopoietic organ only?)