Ar. Mccaffery et al., A GREGARIZING FACTOR PRESENT IN THE EGG POD FOAM OF THE DESERT LOCUSTSCHISTOCERCA-GREGARIA, Journal of Experimental Biology, 201(3), 1998, pp. 347-363
The behavioural phase state and coloration of hatchling Schistocerca g
regaria were examined in a series of experiments to determine the mean
s by which phase characteristics are passed between generations, Both
crowding of solitary-reared females at the time of oviposition and hig
h egg pod densities promoted behavioural gregarization, although the f
ormer appeared to be a rather more potent factor, In contrast, egg pod
density alone appeared to promote the development of hatchlings with
dark patterns characteristic of the gregarious phase, The phase charac
teristics of hatchlings were unaffected when sand previously used for
oviposition was used to collect further egg pods, Early separation of
presumptive gregarious eggs from egg pods laid by crowd-reared females
led to solitarization of the hatchlings, indicating that a factor, ei
ther in or around the eggs, removed by early separation promoted grega
rization, Both the eggs and foam plugs of egg pods from crowd-reared,
gregarious females appeared to be a source of this gregarizing factor,
In contrast, there was no evidence for a solitarization factor in egg
pods from solitary-reared S. gregaria. Saline extracts of egg pod foa
m plugs produced an active factor which promoted gregarization both in
eggs from solitary-reared females and in eggs from gregarious females
which were separated and washed to removed the factor, Solitary eggs
were influenced by the gregarizing factor in foam plug extracts for up
to 1 day after oviposition, Saline extracts of foam plug retained the
ir activity for up to 1 day, Initial studies on the properties of this
factor were made, We conclude that the foam plugs of egg pods from cr
owd-reared, gregarious locusts contain a small (<3 kDa), hydrophilic g
regarizing factor which is produced at the time of oviposition and whi
ch predisposes hatchlings to attain characteristics of the gregarious
phase.