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A Wind Tunnel for Odor Mediated Insect Behavioural Assays
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Faeces' odours attract gregarious locust hoppers.

Camille Vernier1, Nicolas Barthes2, Marie-Pierre Chapuis1

  • 1CIRAD, UMR CBGP, F-34398 Montpellier, France; CBGP, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD, Montpellier, France.

Journal of Insect Physiology
|November 7, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Locust nymphs are attracted to the scent of feces, regardless of age. This chemical trail, lasting over 24 hours, helps separated locusts rejoin their group, aiding collective motion.

Keywords:
Band movementBehavioral experimentGas chromatography–mass spectrometryGuaiacolOlfactometrySchistocerca gregaria

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Area of Science:

  • Animal behavior
  • Chemical ecology
  • Insect social dynamics

Background:

  • Gregarious locusts exhibit impressive collective motion in bands and swarms.
  • Visual cues maintain local marching behavior, but larger-scale cohesion mechanisms are less understood.
  • Separated locusts can rejoin groups, suggesting non-visual orientation cues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if locust nymphs are attracted to feces odors.
  • To determine if the age of feces modulates this attraction.
  • To identify volatile organic compounds in feces that may mediate attraction.

Main Methods:

  • Olfactometric behavioral assays with 3rd instar desert locust nymphs (Schistocerca gregaria).
  • Exposure to odors from 1-hour-old and 24-hour-old feces.
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze volatile organic compounds.

Main Results:

  • Locust nymphs showed a strong attraction to feces odors.
  • No significant preference was observed between 1-hour-old and 24-hour-old feces.
  • Nymphs spent more time in odor-exposed areas, with 72.7% choosing it first.
  • GC-MS identified 11 compounds, including guaiacol and phenol, in both fresh and old feces.

Conclusions:

  • Feces odors act as an attractive cue for locust nymphs, potentially aiding group cohesion.
  • The attractive effect persists for at least 24 hours, enabling separated individuals to follow scent trails.
  • This olfactory orientation mechanism likely contributes to the rejoining of dispersed locusts to their bands or swarms.