Lipid composition of preaestivating and aestivating adult Egyptian alfalfa weevil, Hypera brunneipennis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Body weight of adults of the Egyptian alfalfa weevil, Hypera brunneipennis (Boheman), declined approximately 40% during the first 3 mo of aestivation, but there was little or no lipid utilization. By the end of aestivation, however, lipid content had declined approximately 50%. The majority of fatty acids recovered from preaestivating and aestivating H. brunneipennis adults were C 18. Oleic acid (18:1) was generally the most abundant fatty acid, with the greatest percentage recovered from the sterol ester fraction. Linolenic (18:3n3) was the next most abundant acid and was found largely in the free fatty acid and monoglyceride fractions. C 18 was present only in low amounts in alfalfa foliage. It appears that these C18 acids are, at least partially, synthesized by H. brunneipennis . Aestivating H. brunneipennis apparently uses fatty acids generally rather than specifically.