HISTOCHEMICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CYTOCHEMISTRY OF GLYCOGEN ON OVARIOLES OF NEOPONERA-VILLOSA ANTS (HYMENOPTERA, PONERINAE)

In Neoponera villosa ants, we found ovaries of the polytrophic meroist ic type which is characterized by the presence of nurse cells forming together with the oocyte, the so-called follicles. The nurse cells hav e the primary function of supplying the oocyte with RNA, but they cont ribute to the supply of other elements such as glycogen. With the obje tive of detecting the presence of this substance in the ovarioles of w orkers and queens of N.villosa ante the ovaries were removed and proce ssed according to electron microscopy technic for glycogen detection. Glycogen is a common element in insect oocytes and is abundantly distr ibuted in the cytoplasm of N.villosa workers and queens. However, in o varian follicles it can only be detected at stages ET and lit of devel opment. Glycogen synthesis probably occurs predominantly in nurse cell s which transfer it into the oocyte through the nourish pore. This pro cess requires high energy expenditure that justify the large numbers o f mitochondria associated with glycogen in the nurse cell cytoplasm. T he amount of glycogen in the nurse cells of queens is slightly greater than workers.