Flight fuels in the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens

The flight fuels of Nilaparvata are a combination of carbohydrate and lipid. In insects of constant age, lipid deposits are proportional to body weight, as is the rate of utilisation of lipid in flight. Reserves of glycogen are more variable and show no correlation with body weight. They are also always extremely low, approximately 0.2% of the live weight, in flight-willing insects. During flight there is evidence that, unlike other migrant insects, carbohydrate metabolism may continue for some hours and some lipid utilisation may begin almost immediately flight is initiated.