Comparison of flight muscle and energy consumption of pre- and post-flight in Calliptamus italicus(Orthoptera:Acrididae)

Calliptamus italicus has the ability to fly long distance for migration, which can have negative effects in migrated areas. In this study on C. italicus, we compared the sarcomere length, myofibrils diameter, mitochondrial content, and changes in glycogen and glyceride levels during different flight distances. Our results indicate significant (P<0.05) differences between females, males, females and males of test group members and control group in the mitochondrial content. The most glycogen consumption was recorded for females flying over 2.8 km and males flying between 2.12.8 km, which were 11.15 and 16.10 mg·g-1, respectively. The most glyceride consumed for both, females and males was to fly over 2.8 km, which were 61.69 and 69.75 mg·g-1, respectively. We found that C. italicus consumed both, carbohydrates and lipid at the same time during flight. Females and males had the highest glycogen utilization efficiency when the travelling distances were over 2.8 and 2.12.8 km, respectively. Highest glyceride utilization efficiency was also observed when the travelling distance was over 2.8 km.