Particular attention was given to the complex coeloconic sensillum, a compound sensillum innervated by 2 groups of 3 neurons wrapped in a dendritic sheath. A cuticular sleeve envelops the distal portion of the outer dendritic segment. The cuticle of the coeloconic sensillum shows wide channels and is contiguous to the underlying granular and fibrillar layer. Similar structures on the antennae of the adults of other dragonflies were identified as chemoreceptors in previous studies. We hypothesize that this larval coeloconic sensillum might likewise have a chemosensory function, responding to molecules that diffuse through the cuticle and the underlying granular and fibrillar layer, as no clear pore or pore-tubule system is visible.
Alternative functions are also explored on the basis of morphological details.
New Zealand Abstract. The hypothesis that bioluminescence produced by larvae of the New Zealand glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa , attracts prey was tested experimentally in Reserve Cave, Waitomo, New Zealand, and in its bush-clad entrance over a total of 200 days during winter, spring, and summer. We compared catches on transparent adhesive traps placed either over glowworms or over areas from which glowworms had been removed. Adhesive traps over glowworms caught significantly more invertebrates per trap per day than did control traps. Glowworms in bush attracted greater numbers and types of invertebrates than did glowworms in the cave.