Figures 2.3


The ultrastructure of cuticle (from a transmission electron micrograph).
Figures 2.3. The ultrastructure of cuticle (from a transmission electron micrograph).

The arrangement of chitin microfibrils in a helicoidal array produces characteristic (though artifactual) parabolic patterns. (b) Diagram of how the rotation of microfibrils produces a lamellar effect owing to microfibrils being either aligned or non-aligned to the plane of sectioning. (After Filshie 1982)

Previous figure
  Structure of part of a chitin chain, showing two linked units of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine.
Next figure
  A specialized worker, or replete, of the honeypot ant, Camponotus inflatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which holds honey in its distensible abdomen and acts as a food store for the colony.