Oral supplementation with potassium bromide (10, 20 and 40 μg/ml) to fifth instar larvae of CSR2, CSR4 and CSR2xCSR4 crossbreed races of the silkworm, Bombyx mori resulted in a significant increase in the fat body glycogen in all the treated groups and in all the three races of the silkworm, B. mori. The fat body protein content was increased with 20 and 40 μg/ml treated groups in CSR2 and CSR4...

The infrastructure of the pericardial cells of adult female Drosophila melanogaster is illustrated. The data presented suggest that the pericardial cell internalizes by pinocytosis complex and possibly toxic compounds present in suspension in the haemolymph. These compounds are broken down to soluble molecules within lysosome-like vacuoles. The pericardial cells thus behave like the reticulo-en...

Investigation into the presence of C. ruminantium antigen, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in various tick tissues and haemolymph of adult Amblyomma hebraeum ticks revealed that the organism invades a number of body parts and can be demonstrated in A. hebraeum. In females, the gut, salivary glands, hypodermis and synganglion and in males, the salivary glands and gut showed th...

The humoral response to fungal and Gram-positive infections is regulated by the serpin-family inhibitor, Necrotic. Following immune-challenge, a proteolytic cascade is activated which signals through the Toll receptor. Toll activation results in a range of antibiotic peptides being synthesised in the fat-body and exported to the haemolymph. As with mammalian serpins, Necrotic turnover in Drosop...

Long-distance, female-produced sex pheromones are widespread among moths. Larval feeding provides most of the nutrients for development of these insects but is not thought to influence the de novo production of the fatty-acid derived compounds used as pheromones by most species. Feeding on plant nectar (sugar) by adult moths is important for increasing female fitness and also for the pollinatio...

1. Previous work has shown that fifth-instar nymphs of Locusta migratoria (L.) compensate for a dilution of their dietary protein by reducing intermeat interval (Simpson & Abisgold, 1985). 2. The effect of dietary protein on intermeal interval is regulated, either directly or indirectly, by the osmolality and free amino acid content of the haemolymph (Abisgold & Simpson, 1987). 3. The possibili...

In recent years there has been considerable interest in the effects of locomotor activity on respiratory gas exchange and acid-base balance in the Crustacea (reviewed by Herreid, 1981; McMahon, 1981; McMahon & Wilkens, 1983). However, the partitioning of energy metabolism between aerobic and anaerobic pathways during crustacean locomotion is still poorly understood (Herreid, 1981; Full & Herrei...

At maturity, the endoparasitoid larvae of several subfamilies of the Braconidae have to emerge from inside of the host to pupate. Although the hosts hormonal milieu and the timing of larval parasitoid emergence have been studied, no report has yet focused on the physiological state of the host in connection with the emergence behavior of endoparasitoids. We investigated the mechanism of larval ...

A comparison has been made between the effects of wounding, chemical stimulation of the immune system and fungal infection on acid phosphatase (AcP) activity in the haemolymph of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Untreated control locusts had constitutive levels of AcP. As a lysosomal enzyme, AcP may have a role in autophagy and cell turn over as well as defence. Injection of saline and...