ABSTRACT
Free amino acid concentrations have been measured in haemolymph samples taken from 3rd instar larvae of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina, at various stages prior to pupariation. The amino acids found in the haemocyte fraction only accounted for 6% of the total free amino acid concentration of the haemolymph. However, a high percentage of the dicarboxylic amino acids, glutamate and aspartate, 62% and 69% respectively, appeared to be sequestered in the haemocyte fraction at 72 h prior to pupariation. The percentage of the other individual amino acids found in the haemocyte fraction represented less than 10% of their amount in whole haemolymph. It is proposed that these results, together with the increase in the haemocyte levels of glutamate observed after injecting larvae with saline containing glutamate, are one of the first indications of a homeostatic function of insect haemocytes with respect to haemolypmh amino acids.
