The Suspensory Muscles in a Tipulid Larva, Tipula Abdominalis (Diptera: Tipulidae)

Abstract

There are three pairs of suspensory muscles in the larva of Tipula abdominalis which originate dorso-laterally between body segments one through four and insert laterally along the mid-gut and on the mid-portion of the Malpighian tubules. Cytologically these muscles resemble body wall muscles more than gut muscles. In the living animal, the muscles probably take up slack and keep the gut and Malpighian tubules from being displaced unduly.