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Gregarious locust and solitary locust display significant differences in behavior, physiology, and morphology in response to the changes in population density. Here, we show that two phases also differ significantly in volatile composition and their emission dynamics along with the development and sexes. The body odors of the gregarious and solitary nymphs are mainly consisted of aromatic compounds, such as benzaldehyde, guaiacol, phenol, anisole, veratrole, and aliphatic acids (C2 and C6). PAN and 4‐vinylanisole are present in gregarious locust, but are absent in solitary locust. These two compounds were completely lost in gregarious nymphs during solitarization process, but were obtained by solitary nymphs during gregarization. The amounts of benzaldehyde, guaiacol, and phenol only unidirectionally decreased from solitary to crowded treatment (see pages 60–72). Picture provided by Jianing Wei.

Source: Insect Science - January 24, 2017 Category: Biology Tags: CONTENTS Source Type: research