The success of the imaginal ecdysis of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregma, depends on the inflation of the gut with air. The greater part of gut inflation occurs during Stage 3 of the ecdysis (emergence); by the end of this stage the gut is fully inflated. Deflation occurs during Stage 6 , after the completion of expansion. The air-swallowing motor programme is described, During the first part of Stage 3, the frequency of swallowing is regulated according to the degree of foregut distension. In addition, swallowing within the bouts of emergence behaviour is timed by the metathoracic ganglion. During the second part of Stage 3 these control mechanisms are overriden. The contributions of the inflated gut to emergence and expansion are described.

ABSTRACT. The imaginal ecdysis of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Fo̊rsk.), is described in detail. Ecdysis is considered to begin when the fifth instar nymph ceases to feed and to end when the adult takes its first meal. It is here divided into six stages: Stages 1 and 2 constitute the pre‐emergence behaviour; Stages 3 and 4, emergence; Stage 5, the expansion of the new cuticle; and Stage 6, the post‐expansional behaviour.

Background The coronavirus pandemic has exerted significant impacts on primary care, causing rapid digital transformation, exacerbating social isolation, and disrupting medical student and General Practice [GP] trainee education. Here we report on a medical student telephone initiative set-up by a final year GP trainee (the equivalent of a family medicine resident), which aimed to support patients at high risk and vulnerable to the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 [Covid-19]. In addition, it was hoped the project would mitigate a digital divide, enable proactive anticipatory planning, and provide an active learning environment to compensate for the pandemic’s impact on medical education. Methods Thirty-three medical students conducted daily telephone conversations with high risk and vulnerable patients as specified by the initial NHSE published lists. They confirmed public health messages, offered details for voluntary support groups, established need for medication delivery, explored levels of digital connectivity, and prompted discussions around end-of-life choices. Students had access to online reflective resources and daily remote debriefing sessions with the GP trainee. A convergent mixed-methods evaluation was subsequently undertaken, using quantitative process and descriptive data and individual qualitative interviews were conducted according to a maximal variation sampling strategy with students, General Practitioners [GPs], and the GP trainee. Inductive thematic analysis was then applied with cross-validation, respondent validation, and rich evidential illustration aiding integrity. Results Ninety-seven ‘high risk’ and 781 ‘vulnerable’ calls were made. Individuals were generally aware of public heath information, but some struggled to interpret and apply it within their own lives. Therefore respondents felt students provided additional practical and psychological benefits, particularly with regard to strengthening the links with the community voluntary groups. The project was widely liked by students who reported high levels of skill development and widened awareness, particularly valuing the active learning environment and reflective feedback sessions. Conclusion This study demonstrates utilization of medical students as wider assets within the primary health care team, with an initiative that enables support for vulnerable patients whilst promoting active medical education. Ongoing integration of students within ‘normal’ primary health care roles, such as chronic disease or mental health reviews, could provide similar opportunities for supported active and reflective learning.

The newly-emerged adult locust stretches its soft new cuticle into its adult shape and size, and at the same time caters for its ventilatory demands, by means of a pattern of behaviour, the 'expansional motor programme'. This programme begins after emergence and persists until about an hour after wingfolding, during which time its period changes in a predictable manner. In the post-expansional period, abdominal dorsoventral movements occur that may serve to deflate the gut and to fill the air-sacs, and the mandibles are periodically adducted.

ABSTRACT. Endogenously‐generated motor programmes were found to underlie the repetitive patterns of muscular activity that perform specific tasks prior to and during adult emergence in locusts. Several of these motor programmes are described. Emergence is brought about by the action of waves of longitudinal segmental contraction that pass anteriorly along the abdomen, working the animal forward out of its old cuticle. Additional motor programmes assist in the extrication of the legs and mouthparts. During ‘Stage 3’ (Hughes, 1980a) emergence behaviour is organized into repeating units, defined as bouts. The metathoracic ganglion times the expression of concurrently‐active motor programmes so that they bear definite phase relationships one to another within a bout. Each bout is functionally divisible into three phases, each of which contributes differently to the emergence of the animal. Bout period and the duration of ‘Stage 3’ are both under sensory control in relation to the progress of emergence.