Fatty Acids in Lipid Fractions of Early and Late-Stage Larvae of Heliothis zea and in the Diet,

The fatty acids in the phospholipids, miscellaneous lipids, triglycerides, and sterol esters of early- and late-stage larvae of the bollworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), and in the larval diet, as determined with gas liquid chromatography, showed significant differences. In general, percentage of palmitoleic, stearic, and oleic acids was higher in the insect than in the diet and increased as the insect matured, except that the amount of linoleic and linolenic acids decreased. This decrease seemed to be related to the synthesis of the fatty acids by the insect. Also, fatty acids were not evenly distributed between the phospholipids and triglycerides. The phospholipids contained less palmitic and oleic acids, but more stearic, linoleic, and linolenic acids; the reverse was true of the triglycerides. In addition, the distribution of fatty acids in the phospholipids and triglycerides of early- and late-stage larvae was different.