Abstract
The chemical composition of the leaf sap of the radish, a host plant for the mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi , is compared with the composition of the honeydew that is excreted. The results indicate that the aphid utilizes sugars in a descending order of glucose, pentose sugars, fructose, and dextrins. Dextrin is utilized in very small amounts if at all and there is some evidence that the dextrin from honeydew has a larger molecule than the dextrin in the plant sap. Nitrogenous excretory products, when compared with the leaf sap materials, indicate the utilization of the essential amino acids and the elimination of nitrogen principally as arginine. Urea was detected and there were traces of ammonium salts. Amides and carbamyl compounds occur in significant concentrations high enough to indicate that the excretory mechanism of the aphid could be severely taxed to provide for their elimination.
Published Version
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