Role of male-female stimulation in the biology of Locusta migratoria migratorioides (Orthoptera, Acrididae)

• Autor(a) principal: Paiva, Maria Rosa Santos de
• Data de Publicação: 1995
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: und
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/70234

Laboratory experiments were conducted at 25º (± 2º C), 10 : 24 light hours, to assess the influence of male stimulation upon females of the migratory locust. Locusta migratoria migratorioides, gregary phase. Three different treatments were performed: Mated females (A); virgin, isolated from males (B); virgin, separate from males by a perforated wall, through which olfactory, visual and acoustical stimulation was possible (C). Longevity of mated females decreased by 2 to 4 days in comparison with virgin ones. There were no significant differences for the total number of eggs batches, laid by the females of types of experiments. However, the number of both infertile eggs, and larvae that started developing, but did not hatch, was significantly lower for the mated females, than for the virgin ones. Concomitantly, the mean number of viable larvae produced by mated females reached 15.7 larvae / egg batch, while a maximum of 2.3 larvae 7 egg batch originated from virgin ones. Experiments are in progress, aiming at the analysis of volatile compounds emitted by males, having pheromonal activity. The role of semiochemicals in locust population management is briefly discussed.