Anopheles gambiae (anterior view, colorized SEM, x 114, the line represents 200 microns). Are well visible : the compound eyes (composed of ommatidia), the antennae, the proboscis and the maxillary palps (in green). Anopheles gambiae is one of the vectors of malaria and elephantiasis. Anopheles gambiae > Anopheles > Mosquito > Culicid > Diptera > Insect > Arthropod. At a magnification of 114x, this scanning electron micrograph (SEM) revealed some of the morphologic features displayed on the exoskeletal surface of an Anopheles gambiae mosquito's anterior head region. Included in this field of view were the two bilaterally located antennae, the proboscis, two maxillary palps, and the clypeus, to which the aforementioned structures are attached. Also note the two bilateral multifaceted compound eyes. The head is specialized for acquiring sensory information, and for feeding. Appearing as ruffled, feathery structures, the two maxillary palps, which in the Anopheles mosquitos, are as long as the proboscis, act as sensorial organs providing the insect with information on environmental changes in temperature and chemistry, as do the two antennae medial to the mosquito's eyes. The compond eyes, made up of a multitude of repeating subunits known as ommatidia, provide the organism with a unified multifaceted mosaic appearance of its surroundings. Also seen in the field of view, was the V-shaped labrum, as it lead into the mouth of the mosquito. Contained in a sheath, the labrum is the larger of two sharp structures known as stylets, which pierce the skin of its hosts, and together are known as the fascicle. Together the sheath and stylets are known as the proboscis.
