Chemical factors influencing the feeding preference of three Aulacophora leaf beetle species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract

Three cucurbitaceous feeding leaf beetle species, Aulacophora indica, A. lewisii, and A. nigripennis, were investigated with regard to the relationship between feeding preference by the beetles and cucurbitacins B, E, I, and E-glucoside contents in the leaves of 18 cucurbitaceous plant species. HPLC analysis and TLC analysis of A. lewisii revealed that the cucurbitacin B and E-glucoside, which are strong feeding stimulants for A. indica and A. lewisii, were abundant in Lagenaria siceralia, Sicyos angulatus, and Cucumis melo leaves. In a feeding preference test using fresh leaves, A. indica preferred various cucurbitaceous plant species and methanol extracts regardless of the contents of the four cucurbitacins. A. lewisii mostly fed on Luffa cylindrica leaves in which the four cucurbitacins were not detected. A. lewisii was also stimulated to feed by the methanol extracts of Lagenaria siceraria and L. cylindrical, while A. nigripennis, which is only slightly stimulated to feed by the four cucurbitacins, fed primarily on Trichosanthes kirilowii var. japonica leaves. Among 18 cucurbitaceous plants, only Diplocyclos palmatus leaves were completely rejected by the three beetle species, and these beetle species did not even feed on D. palmatus leaves treated with the cucurbitacins. These results indicate that some leaf constituents as well as the four cucurbitacins play an important role in host plant selection by the three cucurbitaceous feeding beetle species.

Host Selection and Feeding Preference ofAgrilus planipennis(Coleoptera: Buprestidae) on Ash (Fraxinusspp.)

“…1). It is not uncommon for related tree species to differ in the relative amounts of constitutive or emitted volatiles (Holm and Hiltunen 1997, Faldt et al 2001, Pureswaran et al 2004) and for herbivorous insects to discriminate among hosts based on these differences (Abe andMatsuda 2005, Pureswaran andBorden 2005). In another study, stressed Manchurian ash saplings released relatively higher amounts of volatiles when they were subjected to feeding by beetles or sprayed with methyl jasmonate, a stress-induced phytohormone compared with control trees (RodriguezSaona et al 2006).…”

Suitability of Monocots for Rearing Alien Coconut Pest Brontispa longissima (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

“…The feeding behaviors of several chrysomelid beetles are reported lo be mediated by the secondary substances of plants. For example, Diabrotica and AwZacophora species feeding on cucurbitaceous plants have been revealed to have their feeding stimulated by triterpenoid cucurbitacins, which are generally found in cacurbitaceous plants (Metcalf andLampman 1989, Abe andMatsuda 2005). However, the triterpenoid momordicin II in the bitter melon, Momordica charantia L., acts as a feeding deterrent to Aulacophora species (Chandravadana 1987, Abe andMatsuda 2000).…”

Attraction of Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to Host Plant Cucurbita maxima Duchesne (Cucurbitaceae) Volatiles

“…The red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), has long been a serious and major pest of cucurbitaceous plants [1][2][3][4][5]. It has been reported across the continents of Asia, parts of Europe and Africa [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…The red pumpkin beetle, Aulacophora foveicollis Lucas (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), has long been a serious and major pest of cucurbitaceous plants [1][2][3][4][5]. It has been reported across the continents of Asia, parts of Europe and Africa [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Neonate larvae of this pest feed on healthy and young roots of the plants and feed through all the instars for approximately 12-13 days before pupation in the soil [1,2,5,7].…”

“…An average of five insect individuals each from male and female, respectively, were taken for the study (N = 10). Bold t-test values with "*" are subjected to be significant at p < 0.05 3…”