We have investigated the pattern of metabolic changes during tethered flight with and without lift generation in the African fruit beetle Pachnoda sinuata. Two distinct metabolic phases occur during lift-generating flight. The first phase is characterised by a high rate of oxygen consumption and a rapid change in proline and alanine levels in the haemolymph and flight muscles and in glycogen le...

Larvae of Culex tarsalis, a mosquito, are capable of surviving and developing in dilutions of sea water ranging from 0 mosmol l-1 to 700 mosmol l-1. In waters more dilute than 400 mosmol l-1, the larvae osmoregulate, whereas in those more concentrated than 400 mosmol l-1, the osmotic strength of the haemolymph parallels that of the medium, i.e. the larvae osmoconform. Over the full range of ext...

Low temperature tolerance is the main predictor of variation in the global distribution and performance of insects, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying cold tolerance variation are poorly known, and it is unclear whether the mechanisms that improve cold tolerance within the lifetime of an individual insect are similar to those that underlie evolved differences among species. The accumulatio...

The distribution and function of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase in the crab Pachygrapsus crassipes was investigated. Carbonic anhydrase was found in gill epithelial tissue but not in the haemolymph, muscle, heart, hepatopancreas or gonads of male crabs. Enzyme activity was completely inhibited in vitro by 2 x IO~M sodium acetazolamide (Diamox). Radiolabelled Diamox (2 x IO~M) in sea water was fo...

The effects of ambient pH on postmoult net fluxes of Ca, acidic/basic equivalents (H+, NH4+/OH2, HCO3), Na and Cl2, total body Ca, haemolymph pH and electrolyte status were assessed in the freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard). Variables were monitored for 5 days postmoult in acidic (pH5.2; H2SO4) or alkaline (pH9.2; KOH) artificial tap water (ATW) and compared with those in control ...

The cellular and humoral immune reactions in haemolymph of the wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae naturally injected by venom of ectoparasitic wasp Habrobracon hebetor were analyzed. A strong decline of phenoloxidase (PO) activity in the haemolymph and the number of haemocytes with PO activity of envenomated wax moth was observed. In addition, it has been shown that the rate of capsule melaniz...

background: antimicrobial peptides play a role as effectors substances in the immunity of vertebrate and inverte­brate hosts. in the current study, antimicrobial peptide was isolated from the haemolymph of the american cock­roach, periplaneta americana . methods: micrococcus luteus as gram-positive bacteria and escherichia coli as gram-negative bacteria were candi­date for injection. induction ...

The abalone Haliotis iris retains the ancestral gastropod arrangement of a pair of bipectinate gills (ctenidia). The gills share a single branchial chamber, are supplied from a common haemolymph sinus and effectively support the whole of oxygen uptake by the animal. Using chronic indwelling cannulae and pulsed Doppler probes, post-branchial haemolymph oxygen partial pressures (PaO2) and haemoly...

The studies on binding of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) with carrier proteins were carried out to establish the role of proteins in the transport of insecticides in insects. Sephadex G-200 column chromatography resolved haemolymph of adult male desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria into three major protein peaks. There was significant binding of gamma-HCH with first protein peak (F1). Two classes ...

Previous investigations of haemolymph sugar levels in honeybees have reported very different results, probably because different experimental conditions affected the activity levels of the animals. The present study investigated the dependence of haemolymph sugar levels in foraging honeybees on metabolic rate and whether the haemolymph sugar level is regulated. Free-flying foraging bees were tr...