Abstract
Schistocerca gregaria sometimes refuse to lay eggs into the “old sand” that is kept in their cages for several days. We investigated why they rejected the old sand for oviposition. Locusts exclusively laid eggs into new sand when presented together with old sand, indicating that the old sand contained an oviposition-inhibiting (OI) factor. We examined whether this factor was derived from locust feces or fed grass (Bromus catharticus). Locusts laid all eggs into the sand with grass when presented together with sand containing feces. In contrast, few eggs were laid into the sand with grass when clean sand was offered at the same time, suggesting that the OI factor originated from the grass and was concentrated in the feces. The OI factor was efficiently extracted from feces with water compared with ethanol and acetone. OI activity was detected by extraction of feces with water for 1 min, although a longer extraction time yielded higher activity. The water extract of feces retained OI activity after boiling. None of the eggs which were buried in sand containing fecal extract hatched, whereas most of the eggs buried in clean sand or sand containing grass extract hatched, showing a correlation between OI activity and a lethal effect on eggs.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Ms. Utako Takano, Ms. Hiroko Ikeda, Ms. Masako Higuchi, and Ms. Harumi Murata for assistance with rearing locusts. Thanks are also due to Dr. Takahiro Shiotsuki and Dr. Toyomi Kotaki for logistics support, and to Dr. Hiroe Yasui for technical advice and help with freeze-drying fecal samples. Prof. Sadao Wakamura (Kyoto Gakuen University) gave us valuable technical suggestions and read an early version of the manuscript. R. S. was supported by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Kakenhi Grant (no. 15J08228) and JSPS Research Fellowships for Young Scientists. We would like to thank Mr. Kameo Tsukada and Mr. Hirokazu Tomiyama (Field Management Section of NAFO) for growing the grass. This work is dedicated to the late Professor Emeritus Sinzo Masaki (Hirosaki University) who suggested S. T. study locusts and gave him much encouragement for many years; he passed away at the age 89 on 28 January 2017.
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Tanaka, S., Sugahara, R. Desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria (Acrididae: Orthoptera) do not lay eggs in old sand: Why?. Appl Entomol Zool 52, 635–642 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-017-0518-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-017-0518-8