A scolopidium (historically, scolopophore) is the fundamental unit of a mechanoreceptor organ in insects. It is a composition of three cells: a scolopale cap cell which caps the scolopale cell, and a bipolar sensory nerve cell.
The general term of these overall sense organs is the chordotonal organs, with the scolopidia usually lying just under the exoskeleton. Scolopidia may be located within:
- the subgenual organ: located in the lower part of the legs; primarily senses vibrations in underlying substrate
- the crista acustica: collection of individually tuned scolopidia able to discriminate frequencies
- Johnston's organ: located in the antennae; senses motion of an antenna relative to the insect's body[1][2]
There are many types of scolopidia, depending on the sense organ in which they belong.
- ^ The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, P. J. Gullan, Peter Cranston.
- ^ Saeng Boo, K., Richards, A.G. (29 July 1975). "Fine structure of the scolopidia in the Johnston's organ of male Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae)". Int. J. Insect Morphol. Embryol. 4 (6): 549–566. doi:10.1016/0020-7322(75)90031-8.
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