A pheromone that helps drive locusts into a swarm comes from bacteria in their gut. For a locust, that urge to join the crowd may literally be a gut feeling. The pheromone guaiacol plays a role in sending swarms of desert locusts into the air. Now, an English research team has traced the compound to bacteria in the locust gut.
Tracking the guaiacol source required building an elaborate system to rear locusts in a sealed, sterile box, report Rod J.
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