Synergistic effect of secondary compounds and nutrients in the host plant choice of a salicaceous-feeding leaf beetle: Phratora vitellinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
1994
Soetens, P. | Pasteels, J.M. (Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). Section Interfacultaire d'Agronomie. Lab. de Biologie Animale et Cellulaire)
Phratora vitellinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is oligophagous on different species of willows and poplars. The larvae of this species use secondary compounds (phenolic glucosides) as precursors of salicylaldehyde which is used as a defensive secretion. The distribution of Ph. vitellinae in the field and its food plant preferences in the laboratory were determined. Ten different host plants species: 5 willows (Salix alba, S. babylonica, S. caprea, S. fragilis and S. purpurea) and 5 poplars (Populus deltoides, P. deltoides x nigra, P. nigra, P. trichocarpa and P. trichocarpa x deltoides were included in the study. Phenolic glucosides, mono- and disaccharides, nitrogen and water content, as well as trichome density of the leaves were quantified for each plant species. We found that, both in the field and in the laboratory, beetles prefer plants with high phenolic glucoside content and low trichome density. Additionally, the synergistic phagostimulant effect of phenolic glucosides and sugars was demonstrated experimentally.
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