LOCATION OF COPPER IN LARVAE OF PLECTROCNEMIA-CONSPERSA (CURTIS) (TRICHOPTERA) EXPOSED TO ELEVATED METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN A MINE DRAINAGE STREAM

Using histological techniques together with transmission electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis, copper-containing granules (which also contain significant amounts of sulphur) have been observed in the cells of the malpighian tubules and in the subcuticular region of larvae of Plectrocnemia conspersa. It is suggested that the granules in both these regions are primarily pigment granules, which provide a mechanism for taking potentially toxic concentrations of copper (and possibly other metals) out of circulation. This mechanism of metal tolerance may in part account for the reported occurrence of larvae of P. conspersa in waters with elevated concentrations of trace metals. © 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers.