Head and mouthparts of Housefly(Musca domestica)

Head and mouthparts of Housefly(Musca domestica)

1) Housefly belongs to order Diptera and contains sponging mouth parts, adapted for sucking liquid food.

2) These insects lack the cutting apparatus.

3)Head, besides ocelli and antennae, bears mouth parts. Antennae are aristate.

4) Mouth parts are composed of proboscis, short maxillary palps,labrum- epipharynx and hypopharynx. Mandibles are absent.

5) Maxillae are represented by short and unjointed maxillary palps before the rostrum.

6)Labrum is fused with the epipharynx and forms a narrow slender tube opening ventrally.

7) Hypopharynx is narrow structure. Containing salivary duct and fits into the tube constituted by labrum- epipharynx.

8) Proboscis is retractile,fleshy and differentiated into basal rostrum, middle haustellum and upper labellum. Labellum contains pseudo-tracheal ,canals,bounded by pseudo-tracheal membrane. Labium forms a tube and encloses labrum-epipharynx and hypopharynx.

9) Hypopharynx and labrum-epipharynx constitute the food channel.