MUSCULATURE OF CULEX PUNGENS. 283 



was diminished. If present before they are in limited numbers. 

 The phagocytic activity begins only with the physiological and 

 chemical regression of the muscles. Morphologically there is no 

 change, but the inertness permits us to say that it is chemically mod- 

 ified. The intervention of leucocytes is variable in organs of the 

 same type, and it is evident that the cells are not indispensable. 



The phenomena attending the dissolution of the fat body are 

 not those of phagocytosis, but a digestive agent is produced which 

 acts upon it. He terms this "lyocytosis" but leaves the mode 

 of the process undefined, other than saying that " lyocytosis is a 

 digestive action of a lyocyte on a cell element which, as a result, 

 enters into cytolysis and becomes a cytolyte." 1 Later he explains 

 in another paper, a digestion taking place by an extracellular 

 process by means of a diastase. This is purely a chemical action 

 brought about by a lyocytic action of neighboring tissues, but 

 whose agents are not easy to determine. 2 



In ants, according to Perez ('oo), leucocytes penetrate between 

 the sarcolemma and myoplasm, starting about the nucleus, then 

 between fibrils along the line of least resistance, /. c., there is a 

 leucocytic phagocytosis. Terre ('oo), studying the same animals, 

 as well as wasps, finds no such phenomena as Perez describes. 

 He believes it impossible to make leucocytic phagocytosis play a 

 part in the muscular degeneration. Myoblasts were described as 

 found, and these cells and their position resemble what Perez 

 describes as leucocytes. He gives account of ( two such: (i) 

 embedded in myoplasm, (2) small ones variable in position, usually 

 superficial, sometimes near the larger ones, and hard to determine 

 whether or not surrounded by protoplasm. The small nuclei 

 are found at an early period before there is the slightest evidence 

 of the beginning of metamorphosis. In a later work of the same 

 year he tends to agree with the idea of Anglas and states that 

 metamorphosis may be accomplished without phagocytosis as 

 generally understood. If the term is taken in its literal meaning 

 of ingestion of bodies, it does not always apply, for regression of 

 muscles and other organs may take place by an extracellular 

 digestion. Again he says ('98) that by contact of the small 



1 " Note preliminaire sur les metamorphoses internes de la Guipe et de 1' Abeille 

 la Lycytose," Compt. Rendu Soc. Biol., LI I., p. 94. 



2 " Sur la signification des ternies phagocytose et lyocytose," Ibid., LII., p. 219. 



