摘要:

ABSTRACT.The presence in insect tracheal taenidia of a protein having an immunochemical determinant common to vertebrate keratins is suggested. Taenidia react positively with a specific anti keratin serum both at the fluorescent and electron microscope level. In tracheal preparations, immunoblotting shows specificity for three polypeptides having molecular weights ranging from 62 to 43 kd, two of them corresponding to prekeratins. In the region of taenidia reacting with the antisera, 7–8 nm thick filaments are present. The occurrence of a keratin‐like protein in insects, and the role played in the tracheal intima are discus

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00705.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.High‐speed films of four swarms of Locusta migratoria in Australia and one swarm in New Guinea were analysed. Measurements were made of the locust's body orientation and flight track in the horizontal relative to wind direction, and of height and speed of flight. In all swarms mean course angle and mean track angle in relation to wind direction were significantly different from zero, although all indicated an upwind direction. No evidence was found for orientation to compass direction or sun. Considerable fluctuations in flight direction were measured in some individuals as they traversed the field of view. A modification of Kennedy's (1951) theory is adopted to explain the angled orientations to wind. It is suggested that this could be the result of an optical orientation mechanis

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00706.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Relationships between estimation of predator‐prey distance prior to a capture attempt and some features of the compound eye are investigated at all stages of post‐embryonic development. Interommatidial angles increase gradually from the anterior and the dorsal regions to the posterior and ventral regions. Facet diameters vary only slightly over the eye surface but increase with age. New ommatidia appear around the borders of eye after each moult. The older ommatidia are pushed away from the border. From one instar to another ommatidia change their direction of view from between 10d̀ to 30d̀ relative to the body axes. This change in direction far exceeds the calculated changes in direction that would be optimal if ommatidia were to continue viewing the same relative directions in space. This suggests a high degree of plasticity of the underlying neuronal net

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00707.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Pupal attendance by adult males of the crabhole mosquito, Deinocentes cancer Theobald, was videotaped in the laboratory. The relationship between pupal attendance time and the sex and age of the attended pupa was clarified by quantitative analysis of the videotapes. Male D. cancer distinguish between male and female pupae if the pupae are within approximately 14 h of eclosion and males spend significantly more time attending such female pupae. The attendance time of female but not of male pupae increased exponentially as they approached eclosion.

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00708.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Levels of octopamine in the haemolymph and locomotor activity have been measured over 24 h in fed and food‐deprived adult male locusts, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål). Locusts are predominantly diurnal, the locomotor activity of individuals with continuous access to food was higher during the photophase. The basal level of octopamine in haemolymph sampled during the first quarter of the light cycle was 7.8±1.1 pg/μl (51 nm). Depriving locusts of food at the start of the photophase for 9 h caused an increase in both the speed of movement and total activity compared to fed individuals. There was a corresponding increase in the haemolymph octopamine concentration which continued for as long as the insects were unable to feed, reaching a concentration of 20.7 ± 3.7 pg/μl (135 nM). While declining, the levels of octopamine remained higher in fed locusts for up to 4 h after replacing the food. The results are discussed in relation to the regulation of feeding behaviour and a proposed neurohormonal role of octopamine in i

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00709.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Using a preparation of the stick insect it is possible to record activity from the neuropile of the mesotheoracic ganglion during sequences of walking behaviour lasting several minutes. The animal walks on two lightweight wheels, counterbalanced to give an upthrust of 0.4 g against the legs. Each wheel may be rotated independently during turning behaviour. The walking behaviour of the operated preparation is compared with the results obtained for free‐walking animals, and intact or partially operated preparations, walking on heavier wheels and mercury. Records from several identified retractor motor neurones show the stability and reproducibility obtainable with this preparatio

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00710.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.The periodicity of calling by female Platyptilia carduidactyla (Riley) is influenced by temperature and photoperiod. Both diurnal and nocturnal temperature changes shift the period of nocturnal calling, but in fundamentally different ways; lower daytime temperatures delay activity, while lower night temperatures result in earlier activity. Lengthening photoperiods result in activity earlier in the scotophase, but the period of activity does not maintain a constant phase relationship with either lights‐on or lights‐off. The periodicity of the behavioural response of males parallels that of calling by females, resulting in coordination of reproductive activities in the field. The result of these responses to environmental stimuli is that mating activity can occur throughout the year in coastal Califor

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00711.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Cave‐crickets of the genus Troglophilus exhibit a slope dependent gating of locomotor behaviour (Kastberger, 1982), which is mainly expressed by a suppression of evasive jumping on inclined surfaces. A similar dependence of the jumpting rate on the ground inclination to that seen in the cave‐cricket can be shown in the African cricket Phaeophyllacris and in the grasshopper Chorthippus. They differ only in the basic motivation for jumping. In this study, free‐moving and tethered cave‐crickets were studied to elucidate the inclination‐sensitive control of gating locomotor activity. Cave‐crickets with cauterized tarsal nerves exhibit only a 20% reduction in jumpting rate at slopes up to 45d̀ compared with intact crickets. Freely moving crickets with compensated body weights show a suppression of evasive jumping which is complete if the vertical force overrides the body weight. Dorsally tethered cave‐crickets which contact a rotary globe with their tarsi, show a significant increase in the latency of jerking beyond 60d̀ inclination. Crickets placed on a floating boat and partially fixed respond to both static and dynamic forces applied to the longitudinal axis of the cricket. Static towing forces induce passive movements and the rate of active balancing are linearly correlated to the force applied. Under dynamic forces the rate of balancing is dependent on the longitudinal position of the legs and on the direction of force. This basic relation is changed by additional stimulation such as light and vibration. Locomotor activity is gated in a different mode, if the light interval is placed during forward or during backward forcing. Light‐off suppresses locomotor activity. The results of dynamic forcing suggest the existence of a gain control which might be responsible for modal and temporal effects in

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00712.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.The virgin female tobacco hawk moth, Manduca sexta, flies during the early scotophase in an LD 16:8 cycle at 24d̀C then begins ‘calling’ within 2h. Mating lasts 3–4 h. Oviposition occurs in the succeeding scotophases if a tobacco plant is present. The switch from virgin ‘calling’ behaviour to mated ovipositional behaviour is mediated by the presence of sperm and/or associated testicular fluids in the bursa copulatrix. The corpora allata, which are necessary for egg maturation in this species, are activated via the NCC I and II around the time of eclosion. Feeding increases the activity of the corpora allata in the virgin female (as judged by the number of eggs matured in 4 days) but mating brings about a further stimulation of the activity of the corpora allata. The stretching of the bursa copulatrix by the insertion of the spermatophore during mating is probably the trigger for this response. Continued neural input from the bursa copulatrix to the brain is necessary to maintain the increased activity of the corp

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00713.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

ABSTRACT.Behavioural habituation† of Schistocerca gregaria Forskål fifth instar larvae to a feeding deterrent, nicotine hydrogen tartrate (NHT), is described. An attempt was made to differentiate between various factors possibly involved in the induction of this behavioural habituation. Sensory stimulation (through maxillary palp), cannulation of NHT into the crop, and its administration by gelatine capsules placed into the oesophagus each resulted in behavioural habituation, but in the latter two cases a sole induction via post‐ingestional input is not completely proven. Injection of NHT into the haemolymph did not induce habituation. It is concluded that habituation via sensory stimulation is a central phenom

ISSN:0307-6962    

DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3032.1984.tb00714.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY