Effect of Nosema locustae (microsporida:nosema tidae) on food consumption and egg production of the grasshopper Heteracris littoralis rambur (orthoptera: acrididae) [electronic resource].

Includes references.

Healthy adult females H. litloralis produced more egg-pods and lived longer than Nosema-infected ones. Control females consumed more food and excreted more faeces more than infected ones. The consumption index (Cl) which reflects the rate of food intake by insect in a given period, was higher in healthy than in the infected females. The growth rate (GR) of healthy insects did not differed significantly from infected insects. Also, approximate digestibility (AD) did not differ significantly between infected and healthy females. Efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body substance (ECl) and efficiency of conversion with which digested food is converted into body substance (ECD) differed significantly (P≤0.05) between healthy and infected females.

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