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Mate Location Mechanism and Phase-Related Mate Preferences in Solitarius Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria

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Abstract

Mate location responses of male and female solitary-reared locusts that had either experienced no crowding or that had been crowded for varying periods were studied in a flatbed wind tunnel. Two hypotheses were explored: that both sexes of this phase of the locust participate in locating the other by using a combination of chemical and visual signals, and that individuals that experience some crowding (i.e., undergo varying levels of phase shift) can compete effectively with their solitary counterparts in mate location and mating. Our results confirm that both male and female solitarious locusts actively participate in mate location, although the former is the more aggressive partner. The responses of the insects are stronger when a visual cue is provided with the olfactory signal. Crowding of solitary-reared adults enhances their responsiveness to the other sex in the absence and presence of the visual cue. This phenomenon may constitute one of several mechanisms that are involved in recruiting solitary individuals into gregarizing groups and facilitating the spread of gregarious characters across a reproductively active solitarious population.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by The Program for Co-operation with International Institutes (SII), formerly DSO, and The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through FAO, to which we are most grateful. The assistance provided by Messrs. M. Miti and the late J. Ongudha, ICIPE's Animal Rearing Unit, in rearing the locusts is appreciated.

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Author notes

  1. Hassan Mahamat

    Present address: Laboratoire de Recherches Vétérinaires et Zootechniques, B.P. 433, N'Djaména, Chad

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya

    Sidi Ould Ely, Hassan Mahamat, Peter G. N. Njagi & Ahmed Hassanali

  2. ICIPE Field Station, P.O. Box 1213, Port Sudan, Sudan

    Magzoub Omer Bashir

  3. University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 32, Shambat, Khartoum North, Sudan

    Salah El-Tom El-Amin

Authors
  1. Sidi Ould Ely
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  2. Hassan Mahamat
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  3. Peter G. N. Njagi
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  4. Magzoub Omer Bashir
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  5. Salah El-Tom El-Amin
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  6. Ahmed Hassanali
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Correspondence to Sidi Ould Ely or Ahmed Hassanali.

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Ould Ely, S., Mahamat, H., Njagi, P.G.N. et al. Mate Location Mechanism and Phase-Related Mate Preferences in Solitarius Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria . J Chem Ecol 32, 1057–1069 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9045-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9045-8

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