Study on morphology and abundance of hemocytes in Mesobuthus eupeus (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Arthropoda hemocytes are an important indicator of the safety of arthropoda against pathogens and parasitoids. Morphological characterization of hemocytes, is the first step to investigate the involvement of hemocytes in scorpion immunity and specific functions of cells. Due to limited researches on the biology of scorpion in this research the hemocytes of Mesobuthus eupeus were examined using light microscopy. Giemsa staining was used to identify these cells. Five identified types of hemocytes in this scorpion were; Prohemocyte, plasmatocyte granulocytes, spherulocytes, and oenocytoids. Two cell types are very common, plasmatocytes and granulocytes, Plasmatocytes constitute 70.2–81.2%, followed by granulocytes with 18.6–29.7% of the total cell population. Prohomocyte with 5-7 μm was the smallest and plasmocytes (12.25- 75.2 μm) were reported to be the largest hemolymph of Mesobuthus eupeus. Identification of blood cells of this scorpion for the first time and can provide a study of the immunity of scorpion against pathogens and its resistance to environmental conditions