GENERALIZED INSECT ALIMENTARY SYSTEM

Digestive System
Parts of the Foregut
1. True Mouth
-located at the base of the hypopharynx with
the cibarium formed by the mouthparts
2. Cibarium
-located between the hypopharynx and the
labrum
3. Pharynx
-a structure where the true mouth directly
communicates that varies among insects
4. Esophagus
-continuous with the pharynx that commonly
enlarges posteriorly to form the crop or the
diverticula
5. Crop
-a dilation (enlargement, opening) of the
posterior portion of the esophagus
6. Diverticula
-posterior blind sac/sacs of the esophagus
7. Proventriculus
-the luminal side that bears sclerotized
denticles or spines
8. Stomodeal Valve
-formed by the invagination of the foregut
and the midgut which is surrounded by the
cardiac epithelium

Functions of the Foregut

a. Mainly conducting tube
b. Crop site of temporary food storage and
partial digestion in some cases
c. Proventriculus grinding site when armed
with denticles
d. Spines in the proventriculus may act as a
filter
e. Diverticula serve as storage of resin for
larvae that feed on resinous plants
Resin compound that can be extracted from
plants
- Used as a defense
Components of the Midgut
1. Gastric Caeca
-a
group
of
diverticula
that
immediately posterior to the cardia
2. Ventriculus

located

-an enlarged sac that serves as the insect

stomach
3. Midgut Epithelium (Basic cell Types)
a. Digestive cell
-columnar with striated border. The
calyciform is formed by the microvilli on
the luminal side
b. Regenerative Cell
-replaces that actively functioning cells, as
a result of holocrine secretion
c. Endocrine Cell
Cell types
o Urocytes, waste storage
o Trophocytes
o Mycetocytes, symbionts
o Oenocytes
o Nephrocytes
4. Peritrophic Envelope or Membrane
-not a true membrane
-composed of chitin fibrils produced by the
cardiac
Functions:
-Compartmentalization of the midgut
-Counter current Water flux

Functions of the Midgut

1. Principal site for the production and secretion
of digestive enzymes
2. Digestion and absorption
3. Gastric Caeca increases the surface area for
either secretion of digestive enzymes or
absorption of water, ions, glucose, amino
acids and cholesterol

Components of the Hindgut

1. Pylorus
-where the hindgut commences
-associated with the Maphigian Tubules
Malphigian Tubules slender, elongated
excretory organs
2. Pyloric Valve
-valvular
structure
Malphigian Tubule

contained

in

the

3. Anterior Intestine
-tubular structures posterior to the Malphigian
Tubules
-anterior and posterior intestines


4. Rectum
-enlarged and highly muscularized organ
-contains a number of papillae that projects
into the lumen
Papillae
-receive an extensive supply of tracheae
and are metabolically active

Functions of the Hindgut

1. Water and ion reabsorption
2. Cryptonephridial systems for the water
conservation
3. Pheromone production possess receptacles
that produce sex attractant; and some
scolytid
beetles
produce
aggregation
pheromone
4. For respiration in larvae of dragonfly order
Anisoptera
5. Modification in structure for housing symbiotic
insects
6. Serves primarily to carry undigested food
materials away from the midgut eventually
egesting the undigested food

DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION

Initial stages of chemical breakdown of
ingested food occurs in the foregut
Most digestion occur in the midgut
Dentricles are found in the proventriculus to
digest particulate food
ABSORPTION
Factors:
Presence of microvilli
o Increase the surface area for both
digestion and absorption
o Functional differences in membrane
permeability of various regions of the
digestive tract
Presence of a counter current water flux
REGULATION OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL
It involves
o Control of movement
o Control of enzymatic secretion
o Control of absorption

Regulated in part through the action of the

stomatogastric nervous system
Food is ingested by the action of the
mouthparts, cibarium and the pharynx
It is released gradually from the crop via the
stomodeal valve into the midgut where
digestion and absorption occur
Stretch Receptor associated with the crop
provide information to the brain regarding
crop distention and help prevent overfilling of
this organ
the destination of the food may vary with the
kind of food
o Example: in female mosquitoes, sugar
meals are directed to the midgut
Sensilla in the roof of the cibarial pump acting
via the frontal ganglion are thought to be
involved in the switch mechanism
Salivary glands lie ventrally to the foregut in
the head and thorax and occasionally extends
posteriorly to the abdomen
Type:
o Acinar
-each
bears
a
tiny
duct
that
communicates with other similar ducts
eventually forming the lateral salivary
duct - merge to form the salivarium
o Tubular
Functions of the Salivary Glands:
Secretion of saliva for:

Moistening the mouthparts

serves as a lubricant
o Acting as a food solvent
Secreting silk in larval

o Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera

Secretion of Toxins

glue in puparial cases to the

substrate in certain flies
Secretion of antimicrobial factors amylase
and invertase are the most common
enzymes in the insect saliva
Serves as a medium for digestive
enzymes and various anticoagulants and
agglutinins
o

and

MICROBIOTA AND DIGESTION

Under normal condition, all insects possess
normal symbionts that may or may not
contribute to their well-being
o Leafhoppers harbor yeasts that are
capable of digesting starch and yeast
o Wood feeding insects contain bacteria that
ferment cellulose
o Lamellicorn beetles, a specialized region of
the hindgut is enlarged to form the
fermentation chamber
o Termites, the sac in the hindgut harbors
mainly
cellulose-secreting
flagellate
protozoans that allow termites to survive
in a cellulose diet
o Larvae of blowflies produce alkaline that
aids in the liquefaction of ingested animal
tissue
o Certain food feeding insects house fungi
needed in the breakdown of cellulose

INSECT NUTRITION
Amino Acids
o Immature insects need more of these
because
they
are
more
actively
synthesizing structural proteins

Carbohydrates
o Needed for growth and development
Lipids
o Chemical source of energy
o Important in the formation of membrane
o Synthesis of hormones
Linoleic acid
o Required for normal development among
Lepidoptera
All insects require a dietary Sterol such as:
o Cholesterol
o Phytosterol
o Ergosterol for normal development
Vitamins
o Include a diverse group of compounds
that are required in very small amounts
for normal functioning of any animal
Vitamin
A
for
normal
functioning of compound eyes
of Aedis Aegypti
Vitamin
B,
complex
and
ascorbic acid, together with
enzymes and co-enzymes in
specific metabolic reactions
Minerals
o For normal growth and development
Purines and Pymiridines
o To carry and mediate the genetic code
Water