Author： Chapman R. F. Ascoli-Christensen A.
Publisher： Entomological Society of America
ISSN： 1938-2901
Source： Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Vol.92, Iss.6, 1999-11, pp. : 873-879
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Abstract
We reexamine the generally accepted view that gustatory decisions of grasshoppers are based on patterns of input from populations of gustatory receptors. We distinguish the activities of different neurons that respond to stimulation with sucrose and nicotine hydrogen tartrate, compounds that are, respectively, phagostimulatory and deterrent, in Cibolacris parviceps (Walker), Schistocerca americana (Drury), and Syrbula montezuma (Saussure). The responses are qualitatively similar in all 3 species. The neurons responding to sucrose are the same as those responding to sodium chloride and we suggest that the insects are able to distinguish between these compounds by the differential firing rate of 2 neurons, 1 of which has an excitatory input and 1 with an inhibitory input. All the grasshoppers that have been examined electrophysiologically appear to have deterrent-sensitive neurons comparable with those present in some other phytophagous insects. We conclude that the gustatory sensilla of grasshoppers contain neurons that provide qualitatively different information to the central nervous system and in this respect they are comparable with those of other insects. Across-fiber patterning, however, remains an essential feature of a grasshopper’s decisions about food quality.
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