Publication Date

1998

Abstract

FreshIy laid eggs of the Eastern Lubber grasshopper, Romalea guttata, are yellow and soft-shelled, but within several hours the eggs become hardened and dark brown. In a similar process, calyx and oviduct secretions, which from the egg pod, become frothy, darkened, hardened, and water insoluble during oviposition. It has been suggested that secretions from the paired Comstock-Kellogg glands accelerate tanning of both the eggs and egg pod foam. I investigated the effects of Comstock-Kellogg gland secretions on the rate of egg and egg pod tanning during egg pod production in the female Eastern Lubber grasshopper, R. guttata. Eggs streaked with Comstock-Kellogg gland secretions, macerated CK gland, mac rated intersegmental membrane, or hemolymph took significantly less time to tan than non-streaked egg or eggs streaked with deionized water. Females lacking CK glands laid eggs that took significantly longer to tan than eggs from sham-operated or unoperated females. These results suggest that the Comstoc -Kellogg glands do serve to accelerate tanning, but the chemical composition of the CK secretions may be common to other grasshopper tissues.

Disciplines

Biology

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