Methods to Examine the Lymph Gland and Hemocytes in Drosophila Larvae

Drosophila and mammalian hematopoietic systems share many common features, making Drosophila an attractive genetic model to study hematopoiesis. Here we demonstrate dissection and mounting of the major larval hematopoietic organ for immunohistochemistry. We also describe methods to assay various larval hematopoietic compartments including circulating hemocytes and sessile crystal cells.