Stick insects

These parents labor industriously for their progeny, but some others seem to be casual and negligent. Among the apparently negligent parents are some odd creatures called stick insects, which belong to an order or group of insects known as Phasmida. The... 

ILLUSTRATIONS With a forceful flick of her abdomen, a stick insect throws an egg several meters at an initial speed of about 3 meters (10 feet) per second. 

We know little more about the bargain between stick insects and ants. The capitulum s function as a transportation ticket is clear Ants pick up and carry only eggs bearing an attached intact capitulum. The eggs of stick insects that do not depend on ants for dispersal typically have little or no capitulum. However, no one has yet identified the capitulum chemicals that attract ants and in-... 

Birds Taiwan stick insect Monoterpenoid alkaloid actinidine Chow and Lin,... 

Chow, Y. S. and Lin, Y. M. (1986). Actinidine, a defensive secretion of stick insect. Megacrania alpheus, Westwood (Orthoptera Phasmatidae). Journal of Entomological Science 21, 97-101. 

The end products of tryptophan metabolism in the stick insect, Carausius morosus, are the ommochromes ommin and xanthommatin (58) in the epidermis, and kynurenic acid (53) in the feces. During larval development of this insect kynurenic acid (53) is the major end product of tryptophan metabolism (Table V) (109,110). Additionally, this insect contains five pteridines (Table VI), of which leucopterin (68), xanthopterin (65), and isoxanthopterin (67) are the origin of the yellow-white color of the insect (111). 

Carotenoid Metabolism and Metabolites. A scheme has been proposed for the metabolism of /3-carotene by the stick insect Carausius morosus to give /3,/8-caroten-2-ol (20) and /3,/3-carotene-2,2 -diol (21) via intermediate 2-oxo-compounds such as (27)." " Feeding experiments have shown that in the goldfish lutein [ S, -carotene-3,3 -diol (150)] and zeaxanthin are converted into astaxanthin (60) whereas /8-carotene and canthaxanthin (130) are not. Further studies suggest that marine red fish such as sea bream cannot oxidize the 3- and 4-positions of the /8-ring. 

Terpenes Anisomorpha buprestoides (walking stick insect) venom Capillary NMR tube volume 10 pi, 1Dand 2D NMR 45... 

In view of the very critical role calcium channels play in a variety of nerve and muscle function, possible effects of various insecticides on calcium channels are too important to be overlooked. It was indeed shown that neurosecretory cells of the stick insect generate action potentials by inward calcium currents (48), and that permethrin increases the electrical activity of these cells at a concentration as low as 5 x 10 " M (49). Although direct demonstration still remains to be seen, it is possible that pyrethroids act on calcium channels to exert their toxic effects (48.50). 

Actinidine (91) is produced by several insects. It was found to be a component of the ants Iridomyrmex discors [267], and I. purpureus [268], Pygidial gland secretions of the ant Tapinoma melanocephalum contained 91, and the alkaloid was repellent to worker ants of this species [269], Actinidine was identified in a defensive secretion of the stick insect Megacrania alpheus [270], and it was present in trace amounts in the defensive secretion of rove beetles [271] and leaf beetles [272]. Ventral glands of Nematus sawfly larvae also contained low levels of 91 [273],... 

Molecules which combine the features of the rod and the disc may be expected to form new types of mesophases. An example is the biaxial nematic phase reported in thermotropic systems (see 6.6). Malthete et a/. have prepared an interesting series of mesogens shaped like stick insects called phasmids (fig. 6.1.5(n)). Some of them form columnar mesophases the structure proposed for the hexagonal phase is shown schematically in fig. 6.1.5( >). 

A number of monoterpenes are used as defensive compounds by the walking stick insect Anisomorpha bupresti-odes and the ant Acanthomyops claviger. The compounds are apparently synthesized within the insect. Other allomonal compounds (57-59) produced by ants are probably terpene derived. a-Pinene (14) is used by some termites for defense. 

In a subsequent study, the DemixC method was appHed to a mixture of D-glucose, L-histidine, L-lysine, serotonin hydrochloride, D-sorbitol as well as to the venom of the walking stick insect Anisomorpha buprestoides, which consists of at least six compounds [84]. The H—H TOCSY spectra of 2048 X 512 points were recorded in a screening setup at 600 MHz with a 1 mm probehead. With the help of databases, the mixture was deconvolved and the venom identified. Thus, automated mixture deconvolution in screening mode using covariance processed H—H TOCSY experiments was found feasible. 

Synthesized in glands of the devil s coach horse beetle Staphylinus olens, and of stick insects Anisomorpha sp.), feeding deterrents... 

By a combination of column and thin-layer chromatography and of spectrophotometry as many as 37 carotenoids in extracts of butterflies have been characterized. In most species lutein epoxide was found to be the predominant carotenoid. Specimens of the same species of butterfly collected in different months quite frequently contained different carotenoids (273). Saponified acetone extracts of the Japanese stick insect Neophirasea japonica were analyzed by a combination of TLC and HPLC on Hitachi gel columns with CHCI3/CH3CN as the mobile phase (274). Carotenoids in poplar hawkmoth caterpillars were analyzed by TLC... 

T Matsuno, T Maoka, Y Toriiminami. Carotenoids in the Japanese stick insect Neophirasea japonica. Comp Biochem Physiol [B] 95B 583-587, 1990. 

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