Mushroom Body Neuroblasts of the Lepidopteran Brain (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

Abstract

A study of the brain of 47 species from 15 lepidopteran families has revealed that only one neuroblast corresponds to each calyx cup of the mushroom body and that mushroom body neuroblasts have been found in the imagoes of 13 out of 25 species caught in the field. It is considered that the proliferative centers consisting of several neuroblasts are not characteristic of lepidopteran mushroom bodies, whereras Kenyon cell neurogenesis in the imago appears to be a widespread phenomenon.