The importance of sequestered iridoid glycosides as a defense against an ant predator

@article{Dyer1996TheIO,
  title={The importance of sequestered iridoid glycosides as a defense against an ant predator},
  author={Lee A. Dyer and M. Deane Bowers},
  journal={Journal of Chemical Ecology},
  year={1996},
  volume={22},
  pages={1527-1539}
}
We reared larvae ofJunonia coenia Hubner (Nymphalidae) on artificial diets with trace concentrations of iridoid glycosides and on leaf diets with higher concentrations of iridoid glycosides. We offered these caterpillars to predacious ants and observed the effects of the following on predation: diet (artificial vs. leaf), site (ant colonies in dry vs. wet areas), instar (early vs. late), and time (changes in predation over five days). Diet and site were consistently significant predictors of… 
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82 Citations

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13 Sequestration of plant defensive chemicals by herbivorous insects is a way to defend themselves 14 against their natural enemies. Such herbivores have repeatedly evolved bright colours to…

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The ability of larvae of six lepidopteran species to sequester iridoid glycosides was compared and it was found that, as expected, J. coenia larvae did contain iridoids, whereas V. cardui larvae did not.

Detrimental effects of plant compounds on a polyembryonic parasitoid are mediated through its highly polyphagous herbivore host

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Dietary specialization and the effects of plant species on potential multitrophic interactions of three species of nymphaline caterpillars

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Host plant iridoid glycosides mediate herbivore interactions with natural enemies

The results suggest that the sequestration of some secondary metabolites can effectively protect herbivores from predation, yet may also increase vulnerability to parasitism via decreased immunocompetence.

Host plant iridoid glycosides mediate herbivore interactions with natural enemies

Many insect herbivores are dietary specialists capable of sequestering the secondary metabolites produced by their host plants. These defensive compounds have important but complex implications for…
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26 References

Iridoid glycosides and host-plant specificity in larvae of the buckeye butterfly,Junonia coenia (Nymphalidae)

    M. Bowers
    Chemistry
    Journal of Chemical Ecology
  • 2004
Larvae of the buckeye,Junonia coenia (Nymphalidae) feed primarily on plants in four families: Scrophulariaceae, Plantaginaceae, Verbenaceae, and Acanthaceae. These plant families have in common the…

Host plant utilization and iridoid glycoside sequestration byEuphydryas anicia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Large year-to-year and individual variation in butterfly iridoid content was established as was a female-male difference in macfadienoside vs. catalpol content.

Fate of iridoid glycosides in different life stages of the Buckeye,Junonia coenia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Feeding experiments suggested that this reduction in actively feeding larvae was due to the metabolism of iridoid glycosides, and calculation of irids consumption and utilization indices showed that larvae fed artificial diets consumed, digested, and sequestered aucubin and catalpol in similar ways.

Determinants of predation on phytophagous insects: the importance of diet breadth

The most important determinant of probability of prey rejection by P. clavata was a prey's diet breadth; specialists were rejected by the ants significantly more than generalists.

Tasty Generalists and Nasty Specialists? Antipredator Mechanisms in Tropical Lepidopteran Larvae

It is concluded that predation could be a substantial selective force in the evolution of narrow diet breadth and that plant chemistry could be the mechanism whereby specialists are better defended.

The iridoid glycoside, catalpol, as a deterrent to the predatorCamponotus floridanus (Formicidae)

The role of the iridoid glycoside, catalpol, as a deterrent to the predator, Camponotus floridanus, is investigated; ant colony responses to catalPol in sucrose solutions varied considerably over time and among colonies.

Relative susceptibility to predation of two species of caterpillar on plantain

It is indicated that Spilosoma caterpillars, by way of cryptic and escape behaviors, can be less susceptible to insect predators than Junonia caterpillar.

Acquired chemical defense in the lycaenid butterfly,Eumaeus atala

Feeding trials with a colony of the ant showed that both cycasin and the adult ofE.

AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF INTER-RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE WOOD-ANT (FORMICA RUFA) AND SOME TREE-CANOPY HERBIVORES

It is concluded that this practice of introducing ants into woodland to protect trees from the effects of defoliators may be ill-founded.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in arctiid moths (Lep.) with a discussion on host plant relationships and the role of these secondary plant substances in the Arctiidae

It is suggested that the Arctiid moths' own deterrent secretions, directed against vertebrate predators, pre-adapts them for feeding on foliage likewise protected against large herbivores by toxic secondary plant substances such as cardenolides and pyrrolizidine alkaloids.