The dorsal vessels of two Orthopteroid insects, the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, and the Vietnamese stick insect, Baculum extradentatum, were examined for their morphology. The dorsal vessels of both of these species consist of a tubular heart and an aorta that extends anteriorly into the head. Alary muscles, associated with the hearts, are anchored to the body wall with attachments to the dorsal diaphragm. Alary muscle contraction draws haemolymph into the heart through incurrent ostia. Excurrent ostia are present in both species with 7 pairs in the locust and 3 pairs in the stick insect. Each excurrent ostium is made up of a mass of cells that produce openings or slits that allow the haemolymph to exit the heart and enter the perivisceral cavity directly without traveling through the aorta. Muscle fibers are associated with the excurrent ostia and these receive innervation from nerve processes containing proctolin-like immunoreactivity. These data indicate that the excurrent ostia are most likely under modulation from neuropeptides that might result in microcirculatory changes in these insects.
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