Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Insect Science and its Application

Publication Date

1-1-1997

Abstract

The blue biliverdin pigment in the haemolymph of Schisfocerca gregria Forskâl(Orthoptera: Acrididae) was shown to be associated with all the stages and ages of the solitary-reared (solitarious) insects, irrespective of their origin or diet. The pigment was absent or present in very small quantities in the crowd-reared (gregarious) insects. The ratio of absorbance at 460 run and 680 run, the former representing the A,max for the carotenoid pigment and the latter for the biliverdin, provides a clearcut index for partitioning the phases. The mean value of the index for the gregarious group fell in the range 3.69 to 4.78. That of the solitarious group ranged from 0.64 to 1.67. The absorbance ratio at 460/ 680 run appears to represent a simple and convenient means of differentiating the two phases of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Schistocerca gregaria, desert locust, solitarious, gregarious, haemolymph pigments, biliverdin, carotenoid pigments, biliprotein, phase polymorphism © 1997 ICIPE.

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