• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 1991

Studies were carried out to investigate structural characteristics of the larval and adult light organs of Luciola lateralis Mot. and to observe the relation between the light organ and nerve. The larval light organs, (LLO)existed at a paired dorsal lateral positions of the 8th abdominal segment. The organ was spherical or sub-spherical in shape. There were many vacuoles around the LLO. As larva grew, the number of vacuoles increased. LLO had the muscles in its interior part and their role seemed to fix the LLO position in space. Also, there were the tracheae and tracheoles in LLO. The Adult light organs (ALO) were at the ventral portions of the 5th and 6th abdominal segments in the male, but only on the 5th abdominal segment in the female. ALO had two functional layers, i.e., photocyte and dorsal layer. Tracheal end organs existed in both layers but their arrangements were irregular. Rod-shaped photocytes and spherical photocytes were observed in the ALO of male and female, but the rod-shaped types were rarely found in the female. In the ALO of the 5th abdominal segment, two paired peripheral nerves were originated from the anterior part of the last abdominal compound ganglion. A pair of peripheral nerves were originated from the posterior part of the compound ganglion to innervate the 6th abdominal segment ALO. And LLO was innervated by a paired peripheral nerves from the last abdominal ganglion.