Abstract
Chemical compounds were extracted with petroleum ether from the cuticular abdominal glands of grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus L.) and eleven compounds were characterised using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) technique in combination with Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The compounds analysed were 2,7-dimethyloctane (3.21%), decane (5.33%), undecane (3.81%), tridecanoic acid methyl ester (4.76%), hexadecanoic acid (9.37%), 11-octadecenoic acid methyl ester (23.18%), pentadecanoic acid, 14-methyl-methyl ester (4.43%), (Z)-13-docosenoic acid (10.71%), dodecyl pentafluoropropionate (9.52%), 2-dodecyl-1,3-propanediol (6.38%), and 1,12-tridecadiene (19.30%). FT-IR analysis of the extract showed peaks at 1270.17 (C–O and C–F), 1641.48 (C=C), 2937.68 (C–H), and 3430.51 (O–H) cm−1 indicating the presence of ether, alkene, alkane, alcohol, carboxylic acid, and fluoric compounds. These compounds consisted of 32.37% ester, 31.65% hydrocarbons, 20.08% fatty acid, 9.52% halogenated ester, and 6.38% alcohol. The highest component was 11-octadecenoic acid methyl ester followed by 1,12-tridecadiene. Since behavioural bioassays were not carried out, the consideration of these compounds to be pheromone semiochemicals remains a hypothesis.
Highlights
Chemicals play an important role in communication between insects
About 85 adults of Z. variegatus were used for the investigation and they were maintained on fresh leaves of cassava (M. esculenta) until they were sacrificed for the analysis
The chemical compound extracted from the abdominal glands of variegated grasshopper was analysed with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS)
Summary
Chemicals play an important role in communication between insects. Chemicals that mediate interactions between organisms (inter- or intraspecific) are called semiochemicals [1].The African grasshopper, Zonocerus variegatus (L.) is a tropical insect that belongs to the order Orthoptera and family Pyrgomorphidae. Z. variegatus is a polyphagous insect that causes serious damage to both food and cash crops in West Africa [3,4,5]. In southern Nigeria, the staple food, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), is the major crop damaged [6]. Reports from West African countries invariably name this species as one of the major pests against which control measures (generally chemical insecticides) have been applied [7,8,9]. In 1970, Nigeria declared Z. variegatus a major pest, and subsequently it became a problem in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Congo, Benin, Uganda, Senegal, and Burkina Faso [10]
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