Haemolymph pigment composition as a chemometric indicator of phase in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria

Abstract

The blue biliverdin pigment in the haemolymph of Schistocerca gregaria Forskål (Orthoptera: Acrididae) was shown to be associated with all the stages and ages of the solitary-reared (solitarious) insects, irrespective of their origin or diet. The pigment was absent or present in very small quantities in the crowd-reared (gregarious) insects. The ratio of absorbance at 460 nm and 680 nm, the former representing the λmax for the carotenoid pigment and the latter for the biliverdin, provides a clear-cut index for partitioning the phases. The mean value of the index for the gregarious group fell in the range 3.69 to 4.78. That of the solitarious group ranged from 0.64 to 1.67. The absorbance ratio at 460/680 nm appears to represent a simple and convenient means of differentiating the two phases of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria.