Octopamine levels during the moult cycle and adult development in the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria
Fuzeau-Braesch, S.; Coulon, J.F.; David, J.C.
Experientia 35(10): 1349-1350
1979
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-4754 PMID: 387433 Document Number: 144555
The octopamine content of the head of Locusta migratoria (L.) was determined in the laboratory in France during the last nymphal instar and adult life of gregarious and solitary males and females, and similar determinations were made for locusts that had been solitarised by treatment with carbon dioxide. Important differences were found in the gregarious, solitary and solitarised locusts. The octopamine contents increased in the middle of nymphal life and during adult life. The time of moulting was characterised by a sharp decrease in the octopamine content, which became identical in the 3 groups of insects. The relation between octopamine content, hormone cycles and motility is discussed, with special reference to the action of octopamine as a neurotransmitter.