Role of chlorophyll content of prey diets in prey‐locating behavior of a generalist predatory stink bug, Eocanthecona furcellata

Abstract

Feeding preferences of nymphs of a predatory stink bug, Eocanthecona furcellata, to Spodoptera litura larvae fed with various food items were examined. Bugs preferred larvae fed with spinach leaves to those feeding on bean sprouts. Solvent extracts of S. litura larvae given spinach or lettuce leaves contained a large amount of (E)‐phytol which was found to elicit the proboscis‐protruding behavior of this bug. (E)‐Phytol was not detected in similar extracts of larvae fed with bean sprouts containing no (E)‐phytol. When S. litura larvae fed with artificial diets containing various amounts of chlorophyll, the (E)‐phytol contents in those larvae and their feces increased in proportion to the dietary chlorophyll contents, indicating that (E)‐phytol was derived from the chlorophyll ingested through hydrolysis. Bugs showed the proboscis‐protruding behavior in response to extracts of larvae fed with spinach and lettuce leaves or a kidney‐bean artificial diet, and their response depended on (E)‐phytol contents. On the other hand, extracts of larvae fed with bean sprouts were not effective. When a larva fed with bean sprouts was treated with (E)‐phytol and presented together with a larva fed with spinach leaves, bugs failed to distinguish between the two. These results indicate that (E)‐phytol originating from chlorophyll in the prey diet serves as an important cue in the prey‐locating behavior of E. furcellata.

Omnivory in Terrestrial Arthropods: Mixing Plant and Prey Diets

“…Some predators possess the neuronal infrastructure necessary to recognize plant materials as food. The generalist stinkbug Eocanthecona furcellata is attracted to (E)-phytol, a chlorophyll derivative that triggers proboscis extension, a characteristic response to a feeding stimulus (183). Similarly, different species of omnivorous grasshoppers quickly respond to proteinaceous animal food sources and are attracted to the food source, at least partially, using olfactory cues (180).…”

Potential of the predatory pentatomid <i>Eocanthecona furcellata</i> (Wolff) as a biocontrol agent on American bollworm in cotton in Myanmar

“…Most probably, E. furcellata responsed to (E)-phytol, which is produced by larvae when feeding on the chlorophyll in their food plants. E. furcellata prefers to feed on larvae fed with a chlorophyll-rich diet than with a chlorophyll-poor diet (Yasuda, , 1998b, My results correspond to these findings that larvae reared on an artificial diet, basically made from bean flour, were inadequately attractive to E. furcellata. found that adults of the predatory bug Orius majusculus (Reuter), having no experience of aphid predation as nymphs, did not prey on pea aphids in the experimental arena.…”

“…They did not select larvae faeces from different host plant and predation on the larvae fed on cotton plants was reduced by half as compared with the first experiment. Yasuda (1998b) mentioned that about 90% of the (E)-phytol can be detected in the faeces of S. litura. E.…”

Optimum density of <i>Eocanthecona furcellata</i> (Wolff) (Hemiptera:Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) to be considered for mass production under laboratory conditions

“…Eocanthecona furcellata (Wolff) (Hemiptera:Heteroptera: Pentatomidae:Asopinae) is a predatory Asopine bug and considered as one of the promising predators of many lepidopteran pests of economically important crops. It is distributed worldwide, especially Southeast Asian countries like India, Japan, Taiwan, the southern part of China and Okinawa (Prasad et al, 1983;De Clercq, 2000;Yasuda, 2000). It was found associated with Spodoptera litura F. and Chrysodeixis acuta Walker) of soybean (Ahirwar et al, 2015), crops like paddy (Sharma et al, 2015), red gram, chickpea, groundnut, urd bean, mung bean, cotton and vegetable fields preying on larvae of Helicoverpa armigera Hubner, tobacco caterpillar and hairy caterpillars (Yi and Kyi, 2000;Nyunt, 2001;Nabapure and Agnihotri, 2011), okra lepidopteran pests like Earias insulana (Fabricius) and Earias vitella (Fabricius) (Bhatt et al, 2018), American bollworm in Myanmar (Yi and Kyi, 2000;Aruna and Devi, 2015) and in forest ecosystems (Aland et al, 2010).…”