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.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.