Studies on the Lipids of Coccids Part X. Lipid Composition of Male Larvae of Ericerus pela Chavannes as Determined by Column Chromatography

Abstract

Insects, male larvae of Ericerus pela were collected from the branches of Ligustrum japonicum Thumb at Sakai-shi, Osaka, early in September, and then insects were separated into the insect body and the wax-shell. The composition of the lipids extracted from each portion was determined by chromatography. In the insect body, the total lipids represented 18.6% of the wet weight. Triglycerides (TG) were the major components, amounting to about 83%. There were also significant amounts of hydrocarbons, waxes, phospholipids (PL), free fatty acids (FFA) and mono and diglycerides. On the other hand, the wax-shell lipids consisted of 92.4% of waxes and significant amounts of free fatty alcohols and hydrocarbons. TG and PL were not detected. The fatty acids of the TG, FFA and PL fractions were analyzed by gas-liquid chromato graphy. The predominant fatty acids were the 18-carbon varieties with high proportions of monoene (22~59%). The phospholipids were composed of 50.1% of phosphatidyl ethanolamine, 29.6% of phosphatidyl choline, small amounts of phosphatidyl serine, cardiolipin-like compounds and a trace of lysophosphatidyl choline. © 1967, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. All rights reserved.