Scanning electron microscopy of the egg of Aedes (Protomacleaya) triseriatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

The egg of Aedes triseriatus (Say) is described with the aid of scanning electron micrographs. The egg is dull black, very broadly cigar shaped, and slightly tapered posteriorly. The length is about 681 microns and the width about 202 microns. On the ventral surface, the irregularly pentagonal or hexagonal outer chorionic cells are about as long as wide and are bounded by the greatly elevated walls of the chorionic reticulum. Each cell has usually one (occasionally two or three) large tubercles set in the cell corners, abutted against the reticulum wall. On the dorsal surface, the chorionic cells are different in structure, each filled by a large, smooth domed tubercle. The micropylar collar is continuous (without gaps), and the micropylar disk is especially clearly defined and has a raised outer margin.