Girdling by notodontid caterpillars: distribution and occurrence

Ganong, Carissa N.; Dussourd, David E.; Swanson, John David

doi:10.1007/s11829-012-9214-3

Cited by 12 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Whilst many insect herbivores avoid consumption of the leaf midrib and primarily feed on the intercostal leaf lamina, some insect herbivores exhibit plant defence sabotage behaviours as girdling, furrowing, and canal cutting before feeding on the leaf lamina in order to render it more palatable. Notodontid caterpillars create girdles that completely encircle stems, petioles, and rachises (Dussourd 2015; Ganong et al 2012), and also cut furrows in leaf midribs or sever leaf petioles (Dussourd et al 2016). Canal cutting by multiple lineages of lepidopteran larvae, beetles, and katydids (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Massive release of volatile organic compounds due to leaf midrib wounding in Populus tremula

Portillo‐Estrada

Niinemets

2018

Plant Ecol

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We investigated the rapid initial response to wounding damage generated by straight cuts to the leaf lamina and midrib transversal cuts in mature aspen (Populus tremula) leaves that can occur upon herbivore feeding. Wound-induced volatile emission time-courses of 24 compounds were continuously monitored by a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS). After the mechanical wounding, an emission cascade was rapidly elicited, resulting in emissions of key stress volatiles methanol, acetaldehyde and volatiles of the lipoxygenase pathway, collectively constituting ca. 99% of the total emission. For the same wounding magnitude, midrib cuts lead to six-fold greater emissions of volatiles per mm2 of surface cut than lamina cuts during the first emission burst (shorter than seven minutes), and exhibited a particularly high methanol emission compared to the emissions of other volatiles. This evidence suggests that feeding by herbivores capable of consuming the leaf midrib can result in disproportionally greater volatile release than feeding by smaller herbivores incapable of biting through the major veins.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Massive release of volatile organic compounds due to leaf midrib wounding in Populus tremula

Portillo‐Estrada

Niinemets

2018

Plant Ecol

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“…manteo , P . angulosa [43] and other notodontids, plus eleven other families of caterpillars and sawflies [11, 51–56]. Fluid application to the midrib or petiole stub occurs in many species (DE Dussourd unpub.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sophisticated behaviors that notodontid larvae employ for modifying hosts may have facilitated this shift. Girdling, furrowing, and leaf-clipping behaviors occur in multiple notodontid subfamilies [11, 43, 53]. In all three behaviors, caterpillars on hardwood trees use their mandibles to cut directly into plant tissues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To determine how VEG secretions and saliva of final instar T . zethus affect the morphology of poinsettia tissues, cross-sections through midrib furrows were prepared using standard histological techniques (based on Ganong et al [43] and described in detail in Van Valkenburg [44]). Theroa zethus larvae appear to secrete saliva as well as VEG fluid onto midrib furrows [8], perhaps to provide lubrication for scraping the plant surface.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A notodontid novelty: Theroa zethus caterpillars use behavior and anti-predator weaponry to disarm host plants

et al. 2019

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Unlike most notodontids, Theroa zethus larvae feed on plants that emit copious latex when damaged. To determine how the larvae overcome this defense, we filmed final instars on poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima , then simulated their behaviors and tested how the behaviors individually and combined affect latex exudation. Larvae initially scraped the stem, petiole, or midrib with their mandibles, then secreted acid from their ventral eversible gland (VEG) onto the abraded surface. Scraping facilitated acid penetration by disrupting the waxy cuticle. As the acid softened tissues, the larvae used their mandibles to compress the plant repeatedly, thereby rupturing the latex canals. Scraping, acid application, and compression created withered furrows that greatly diminished latex exudation distal to the furrows where the larvae invariably fed. The VEG in notodontids ordinarily serves to deter predators; when attacked, larvae spray acid aimed directly at the assailant. Using HPLC, we documented that the VEG secretion of T . zethus contains 30% formic acid (6.53M) with small amounts of butyric acid (0.05M). When applied to poinsettia petioles, the acids caused a similar reduction in latex outflow as VEG secretion milked from larvae. VEG acid could disrupt latex canals in part by stimulating the normal acid-growth mechanism employed by plants to loosen walls for cell elongation. Histological examination of cross sections in poinsettia midribs confirmed that cell walls within furrows were often highly distorted as expected if VEG acids weaken walls. Theroa zethus is the only notodontid caterpillar known to use mandibular scraping and VEG acid to disable plant defenses. However, we document that mandibular constriction of petioles occurs also in other notodontids including species that feed on hardwood trees. This capability may represent a pre-adaptation that facilitated the host shift in the Theroa lineage onto latex-bearing plants by enabling larvae to deactivate laticifers with minimal latex contact.

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“…Some notodontids species employ similar behaviors on trees that lack secretory canals. The caterpillars use their mandibles to chew a shallow girdle that completely encircles stems and petioles or they cut a furrow in the leaf midrib [ 18 ]. Larvae of Schizura leptinoides (Grote)(recently transferred to the genus Oedemasia by Becker [ 6 ]) spend ~5–10% of their time cutting girdles and bathe the exposed vascular tissues within each girdle with saliva from their labial salivary glands [ 18 ](D.E.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theroa zethus Caterpillars Use Acid Secretion of Anti-Predator Gland to Deactivate Plant Defense

Dussourd

2015

PLoS ONE

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In North America, notodontid caterpillars feed almost exclusively on hardwood trees. One notable exception, Theroa zethus feeds instead on herbaceous plants in the Euphorbiaceae protected by laticifers. These elongate canals follow leaf veins and contain latex under pressure; rupture causes the immediate release of sticky poisonous exudate. T. zethus larvae deactivate the latex defense of poinsettia and other euphorbs by applying acid from their ventral eversible gland, thereby creating furrows in the veins. The acid secretion softens the veins allowing larvae to compress even large veins with their mandibles and to disrupt laticifers internally often without contacting latex. Acid secretion collected from caterpillars and applied to the vein surface sufficed to create a furrow and to reduce latex exudation distal to the furrow where T. zethus larvae invariably feed. Larvae with their ventral eversible gland blocked were unable to create furrows and suffered reduced growth on poinsettia. The ventral eversible gland in T. zethus and other notodontids ordinarily serves to deter predators; when threatened, larvae spray acid from the gland orifice located between the mouthparts and first pair of legs. To my knowledge, T. zethus is the first caterpillar found to use an antipredator gland for disabling plant defenses. The novel combination of acid application and vein constriction allows T. zethus to exploit its unusual latex-bearing hosts.

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Girdling by notodontid caterpillars: distribution and occurrence

Cited by 12 publications

References 54 publications

Massive release of volatile organic compounds due to leaf midrib wounding in Populus tremula

Massive release of volatile organic compounds due to leaf midrib wounding in Populus tremula

A notodontid novelty: Theroa zethus caterpillars use behavior and anti-predator weaponry to disarm host plants

Theroa zethus Caterpillars Use Acid Secretion of Anti-Predator Gland to Deactivate Plant Defense

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