CONVECTIVE HEAT-LOSS AND CHANGE IN BODY-TEMPERATURE OF GRASSHOPPER AND LOCUST NYMPHS - RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF WIND-SPEED, INSECT SIZE AND INSECT ORIENTATION

1. Grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes, M. bivittatus) and locust (Loc usta migratoria migratorioides) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) nymphs were or iented at angles to the wind stream at four wind speeds. 2. Rates of t emperature and energy change due to convection were measured after com pensating for Stefan-Boltzmann radiative energy exchange. 3. The rate constant for Newton's law of cooling, and the convective heat-transfer coefficient were both affected nonlinearly by insect size and wind sp eed, but were not significantly affected by insect orientation to the wind. 4. Comparison with published information suggests that the relat ionships observed apply widely within the animal kingdom. (C) 1998 Dep artment of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Published by Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.