[Biological cycle of Diplotriaena sokolowi Skrjabin, 1916, an oviparous filarial parasite of the kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis in Togo].

An oviparous filarial nematode parasite of the kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis in Togo, is identified as Diplotriaena sokolowi Skrjabin, 1916. The development of the first three larval stages in experimentally infected Tylotropidius patagiatus Karsch (Orthoptera, Acrididae) is described and illustrated. Larvae are infective after 14 days of development at 30 degrees C. Their cephalic structures differ from those of the third-stage larvae of the known Diplotriaenidae; on the other hand, they recapitulate the adult cephalic structures of the genus Serratospiculum and confirm the affinity between the Diplotriaeninae and the Dicheilonematinae. As in D. tridens and D. tricuspis, larvae of D. sokolowi are encapsulated in the insect adipose tissue. The cellular encapsulation in Diplotriaenidae is compared with that provoked by Spirurid and Onchocercid nematodes in the adipose tissue of their intermediate host.