Biparental defensive endowment of eggs with acquired plant alkaloid in the moth Utetheisa ornatrix.

Dussourd, David E.; Ubik, Karel; Harvis, C. A.; Resch, James F.; Meinwald, Jerrold; Eisner, Thomas

doi:10.1073/pnas.85.16.5992

Cited by 210 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…C. cubana is not the only Utetheisa egg predator deterred by the alkaloids. Both a coccinellid beetle and an ant have been shown to reject alkaloid-laden Utetheisa eggs (24,25). In addition, the alkaloids protect Utetheisa adults and larvae against spiders (18,26,27).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical defense against predation in an insect egg

Eisner

Eisner²,

Rossini³

et al. 2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

120

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The larva of the green lacewing (Ceraeochrysa cubana) (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae) is a natural predator of eggs of Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae), a moth that sequesters pyrrolizidine alkaloids from its larval foodplant (Fabaceae, Crotalaria spp.). Utetheisa eggs are ordinarily endowed with the alkaloid. Alkaloidfree Utetheisa eggs, produced experimentally, are pierced by the larva with its sharp tubular jaws and sucked out. Alkaloid-laden eggs, in contrast, are rejected. When attacking an Utetheisa egg cluster (numbering on average 20 eggs), the larva subjects it to an inspection process. It prods and͞or pierces a small number of eggs (on average two to three) and, if these contain alkaloid, it passes ''negative judgement'' on the remainder of the cluster and turns away. Such generalization on the part of the larva makes sense, because the eggs within clusters differ little in alkaloid content. There is, however, considerable between-cluster variation in egg alkaloid content, so clusters in nature can be expected to range widely in palatability. To check each cluster for acceptability must therefore be adaptive for the larva, just as it must be adaptive for Utetheisa to lay its eggs in large clusters and to apportion alkaloid evenly among eggs of a cluster.Ceraeochrysa cubana ͉ Chrysopidae ͉ Utetheisa ornatrix ͉ Arctiidae ͉ pyrrolizidine alkaloid T he moth Utetheisa ornatrix (family Arctiidae) (henceforth called Utetheisa) endows its eggs with pyrrolizidine alkaloids [henceforth called alkaloid(s)]. It sequesters the chemicals as a larva from its foodplants, legumes of the genus Crotalaria (family Fabaceae), and retains them through metamorphosis into the adult stage. Both parents contribute to the egg endowment. The male transmits alkaloid to the female with the sperm package at mating, and the female allocates a portion of this gift, together with a share of her own alkaloid, to the eggs (1).Here we present evidence that the alkaloids protect the eggs against a natural enemy, the larva of the green lacewing, Ceraeochrysa cubana (family Chrysopidae) ( Fig. 1 A and B). Specifically, we demonstrate that (i) the larva, in laboratory tests, rejects alkaloid-containing Utetheisa eggs, while avidly consuming alkaloid-free eggs offered as controls; (ii) the larva exercises this discrimination in the field as well; (iii) the larva is more strongly deterred by the N-oxide form of the alkaloid than the free base form; (iv) the alkaloid in Utetheisa eggs occurs mainly in the N-oxide form; (v) the eggs in a given cluster are equally endowed with alkaloid; and (vi) the larva seems to act on this information: it abandons a cluster, no matter what the cluster size, if the first few eggs it samples are distasteful. Materials and MethodsThis study was done at our Cornell laboratories and at the Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Highlands County, FL.Experimental Animals. Utetheisa occur at the Archbold Station, often in abundance, in association with stands of Crotalaria mucronata, the major local foodplant. ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical defense against predation in an insect egg

Eisner

Eisner²,

Rossini³

et al. 2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

120

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“…Adults from the caterpillars that fed on the green seeds were preyed less frequently by the spider Nephila clavipes, 1767 (Araneae: Nephilidae), when fed on the leaves of C. pallida (Ferro et al, 2006). Eggs of this insect have been rejected by Coccinellidae beetles (Dussourd et al, 1988), larvae of Ceraeochrysa cubana, 1861 (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) (Eisner et al, 2000) and the ant Leptothorax longispinosus, 1863 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (Hare & Eisner, 1993). Coleomegilla maculata De Geer, 1775 and Cycloneda sanguinea, 1763 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Diabrotica speciosa, 1824 and Cerotoma arcuatus , 1791 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the unidentified larvae of Coccinellidae (Tavares et al, 2011b), also soil organisms have been observed in the cultures of C. juncea in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil (Tavares et al, 2011c), showing the importance of this culture as a refuge for harmful-insects and natural enemies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) and Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) on organically grown Crotalaria juncea (Fabaceae)

Costa

Tavares

Pereira³

et al. 2012

Planta daninha

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-Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) larvae can avoid foraging on plants of Crotalaria juncea (Fabaceae) after the issuance of floral buds, when the prey of Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) incorporate toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from this plant. This reduces the predation and favors increasing the number of adults and eggs of this defoliator on crops of this plant. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate some biological and ecological aspects of C. externa and U. ornatrix on the organic crop of C. juncea in the EMBRAPA Maize and Sorghum in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Chrysoperla externa and U. ornatrix were more abundant in the vegetative and flowering stages of C. juncea, respectively, with caterpillars of this defoliator feeding on leaves and seeds of this plant. The duration of the stages/instars, survival, lifetime fecundity, and oviposition showed that the branches of C. juncea are a suitable food for U. ornatrix. The abundance of adults and larvae of C. externa was lower in the flowering and pods stages of C. juncea, respectively, when the postures of U. ornatrix are present, probably due to the toxicity of the eggs of this prey to this predator. During these stages, C. externa may be reared with alternative hosts, and when the crops of C. juncea are scarce, an artificial diet should be used for rearing this defoliator in the laboratory for biological research and the development of biological control tactics.

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“…Host plant and pheromone chemical similarity has been explained in the context of the exploitation of a preexisting female sensory system that is geared to find and identify host plants Conner et al 1981;Boppre and Schneider 1985;Meinwald 1987, 1995;Dussourd et al 1988Dussourd et al , 1991Baker 1989;Krasnoff and Dussourd 1989;Landolt and Phillips 1997). Here we invoke sexual selection as a new evolutionary route to the evolution of specialization in larval feeding.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of Lepidoptera, males produce courtship pheromones that are often structurally similar to compounds found in certain plants (Baker 1989). The arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix is particularly well known in this regard (Conner et al 1981;Meinwald 1987, 1995;Dussourd et al 1988Dussourd et al , 1991, but other species, as either larvae or adults, also acquire host plant chemicals for the production of pheromones. For example, some species of arctiid moths are known to sequester chemicals during the larval stage for later use as pheromones or as precursors of pheromones (Baker 1989;Landolt and Phillips 1997), and adult males of danaiine and ithomiine butterflies actively collect chemicals (usually alkaloids in plant material such as rotting fruits or broken twigs) to use as pheromones Pliske 1975).…”

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confidence: 99%

Host Plant Specialization Driven by Sexual Selection

Quental

Patten

Pierce

2007

The American Naturalist

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We propose a new mechanism based on sexual selection to explain the evolution of diet breadth in insects. More specifically, we show that mate choice in females for certain diet-derived male pheromones can be exploited by maternal effect genes that preferentially place offspring on a specific host plant, resulting in specialization. Our analytical model also suggests that the process is more likely to occur with species that show male-congregating mating strategies, such as lekking and hilltopping. The model offers a new explanation for the similarity between the composition of male lepidopteran pheromones and the chemistry of their host plants and also suggests a novel mechanism of host plant shift. This is the first time that sexual selection has been proposed to drive host plant specialization and the first time that a mechanism with selection acting solely on the adult stage has been shown to be capable of determining larval feeding habits.

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Biparental defensive endowment of eggs with acquired plant alkaloid in the moth Utetheisa ornatrix.

Cited by 210 publications

References 17 publications

Chemical defense against predation in an insect egg

Chemical defense against predation in an insect egg

Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) and Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) on organically grown Crotalaria juncea (Fabaceae)

Host Plant Specialization Driven by Sexual Selection

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