Sequestration of phorbolesters by the aposematically coloured bug Pachycoris klugii (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae) feeding on Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae)

Summary. The phorbol ester DHPB has been detected in 5th instars and adults of Pachycoris klugii which feed on Jatropha curcas, a producer of phorbol esters with mollusc-, insect-, and vertebrate toxicity. DHPB from Pachycoris activates protein kinase C (PKC) which appears to be the main molecular target for phorbol esters. Phorbol esters of J. curcas exhibit a wide range of acute toxic effects in vertebrates and insects. It is therefore likely that the sequestration of DHPB, which would explain the aposematic colouration of the bugs, confers chemical protection to P. klugii against vertebrate predators. Received 26 April 2000; accepted 31 May 2000     

Molecular studies on the ouabain binding site of the Na+, K+-ATPase in milkweed butterflies

Summary. The Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is insensitive to the inhibition by cardiac glycosides due to an amino acid replacement: histidine instead of asparagine at position 122 of the α-subunit representing the ouabain binding site. By PCR amplification of the DNA sequence of this site, a PCR product of 270 bp was obtained from DNA extracted from Danainae species (Danaus plexippus, D. chrysippus, D. gillipus, D. philene, D. genutia, Tirumala hamata, Euploea spp., Parantica weiskei, P. melusine), Sphingidae (Daphnis nerii) and mimics of milkweed butterflies (Hypolimnas missipus, Limenitis archippus and L. arthemis, Nymphalidae). Analysis of the nucleotide sequences revealed that the single point mutation in the ouabain binding domain (AAC-Asn for CAC-His) was present only in Danaus plexippus, but not in the other species investigated. Since these milkweed butterflies also store cardenolides, other structural modifications of the Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase may have occurred or other strategies of cardenolide tolerance have been developed. Received 15 May 2000; accepted 29 June 2000     

Isopropyl (Z9)-hexadecenoate as a male attractant pheromone from the sternal gland of the rove beetle Aleochara curtala (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Summary. In the rove beetle Aleochara curtula, a male specific sternal gland is described. Isopropyl (Z9)-hexadecenoate has been identified by GC/MS of surface and sternal gland extracts as a male specific compound. Its emission in the air was demonstrated by closed-loopstripping-analyses. In field experiments, conspecific males and females were attracted by the odor of carrion, caged males from laboratory cultures, and by the synthetic ester. Isopropyl (Z9)-hexadecenoate or live males, combined with fresh carrion attract more beetles than a fresh carcass alone. Isopropyl hexadecanoate as a minor compound was not attractive. The term “aggregation” pheromone and the ecological significance of attracting females to a fresh carcass allowing early copulation and egg-deposition are discussed. Received 20 August 1998; accepted 15 January 1999.     

Dynamics of pheromone production and communication in the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, and the pine engraver, Ips pini (Say) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Summary. The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, and the pine engraver, Ips pini (Say), often co-exist in lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann. Intra- and interspecific semiochemical communication occurs in both species and their complete semiochemical repertoire and precise dynamics of pheromone production have not been elucidated. Porapak-Q extracts of captured volatiles from beetles of each species aerated at different attack phases (freshly emerged, pioneer sex alone in the log and both sexes paired in new galleries), followed by gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-mass spectroscopic analyses identified 17 compounds (seven compounds common to both species, six present in D. ponderosae and four present in I. pini) that excited the antennae of either or both species. Seven compounds for D. ponderosae and nine for I. pini had not been assessed for behavioural activity. In field trapping experiments, 2-phenylethanol produced by both species inhibited the response of D. ponderosae to its aggregation pheromones. exo- and endo-Brevicomin produced by D. ponderosae significantly decreased the response of I. pini to its aggregation pheromone ipsdienol. Nonanal, a ubiquitous compound found in the volatiles of lodgepole pine, various nonhosts and in both beetle species deterred the response of I. pini to ipsdienol. The occurrence of cis-verbenol, trans-verbenol and verbenone in emergent I. pini, and verbenone and 2-phenylethanol in emergent D. ponderosae suggests that these compounds may inhibit aggregation and induce dispersal following emergence. Termination of aggregation in D. ponderosae appears to depend on the production of frontalin in combination with changes in the relative ratios of verbenone, exo-brevicomin, trans-verbenol and 2-phenylethanol. In I. pini, the cessation of ipsdienol production by males is probably the main factor in terminating aggregation. Received 16 November 1999; accepted 7 August 2000     

A synomone imparting distinct sex pheromone communication channels for Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) and Pandemis limitata (Robinson) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Summary. Male obliquebanded leafrollers, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), were induced to respond to a pheromone source tainted with a behavioural antagonist, Z9-tetradecenyl acetate, when a source releasing the antagonist was placed 10 cm upwind of the tainted source in a wind tunnel. However, placement of the antagonist upwind of an attractive pheromone source did not interrupt pheromone-mediated responses. Placement of a source releasing Z9-tetradecenyl acetate, a minor pheromone component of the sympatric species, the threelined leafroller, Pandemis limitata (Robinson), upwind of a calling P. limitata female, reduced conspecific male pheromone-mediated response but resulted in upwind flight by male C. rosaceana and contact with heterospecific females. Male P. limitata locked on and flew upwind to but did not contact heterospecific females when a source releasing Z9-tetradecenyl acetate was positioned upwind of a calling C. rosaceana female. In the field, adaptation or habituation to Z9-tetradecenyl acetate caused by atmospheric treatment with this compound apparently resulted in reciprocal heterospecific pheromone responses. More C. rosaceana males were captured in traps baited with their pheromone and the behavioural antagonist in small field plots treated atmospherically with Z9-tetradecenyl acetate than in nontreated control plots. Fewer male P. limitata were captured in traps baited with their own pheromone, or with C. rosaceana pheromone tainted with Z9-tetradecenyl acetate in plots treated atmospherically with Z9-tetradecenyl acetate than in nontreated control plots. We argue that Z9-tetradecenyl acetate is an important synomone which assists in partitioning the sexual chemical communication channels of C. rosaceana and P. limitata. Received 9 February 1999; accepted 22 March 1999.     

A trail pheromone component of the African stink ant, Pachycondyla (Paltothyreus) tarsata Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Summary. The African stink ants (Pachycondyla tarsata) lay recruitment trails with secretions from sternal glands. The glandular secretions consist of 10 compounds, 9 of which have been chemically identified. One of the substances, 9-heptadecanone, elicits trail following behavior in P. tarsata workers that have before been stimulated by a sucessful scout ant. Received 7 August 1998; accepted 24 November 1998.     

Chemical mimicry in the root aphid parasitoid Paralipsis eikoae Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) of the aphid-attending ant Lasius sakagamii Yamauchi & Hayashida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Summary. An aphidiid wasp, Paralipsis eikoae, was associated with both Lasius niger and L. sakagamii attending the wormwood root aphid Sappaphis piri. An L. sakagamii worker was observed carrying a winged female P. eikoae to its nest with its mandible, but it did not kill the wasp. Once accepted by the ants, the wasp often mounted and rubbed against the worker ants and sometimes teased them to regurgitate food to itself. No workers in the colony attacked the wasp. Conspecific foreign workers, however, viciously attacked the wasp when encountered. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses showed that the accepted wasp had complex cuticular hydrocarbons that were very similar to those of its host ants, whereas the winged wasps collected outside the ant nest showed only a series of n-alkanes. Additionally, the accepted wasp had a hydrocarbon profile closer to that of its host ants than to the conspecific foreign ants. We believe the wasp mimics ant cuticular hydrocarbons to integrate into the ant nest, acquiring the hydrocarbons by mounting and rubbing against the ants. In contrast, the cuticular hydrocarbons of the emerged wasp contained larval and pupal hydrocarbons of L. sakagamii that were also similar to those of L. niger. Both ant species rejected adult workers of the other species but accepted their larvae and pupae. We suggest that the emerged P. eikoae mimics the cuticular hydrocarbons of these Lasius larvae and pupae, which allows P. eikoae to be accepted by both L. sakagamii and L. niger. Received 11 March 1998; accepted 22 July 1998.     

Damage-inducibility of primary and secondary metabolites in the wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

Summary. Induction of secondary metabolites to herbivore damage is a widespread phenomenon among plants and serves to enhance resistance by reducing suitability or increasing toxicity of foliage. Post-damage responses of primary metabolites are less well known; reductions in primary metabolites may increase resistance by decreasing palatability or nutritional suitability for herbivores or by potentiating toxicity of secondary metabolites. In this study, we examined response to simulated herbivory in Pastinaca sativa, the wild parsnip, in both primary and secondary metabolites. We found that induction of secondary metabolites in response to damage is largely restricted to a single class of compounds, the furanocoumarins. These prooxidant compounds are known to be toxic to a wide variety of insect herbivores. The only primary metabolite that responded to damage was total soluble protein, which increased significantly 24 h after damage. After 24 h, the correlation between total furanocoumarins and total sugars was significant and negative (r = − 0.697). This correlation likely reflects an independent response of sugar to damage, rather than a diversion of resources into furanocoumarin production, inasmuch as this correlation at 3 h, after furanocoumarin induction had taken place, was not significant. In other secondary metabolite pathways, damage produced a significant decline in farnesene and a C-16 unsaturated fatty acid, 7,10,13-hexadecatrienoic acid, each of which may potentiate the furanocoumarin defense response. Farnesene may enhance photooxidative activation of the furanocoumarins and 7,10,13-hexadecatrienoic acid may serve as a precursor to jasmonic acid, a key hormone in regulating induction responses. With few key exceptions, quantities of both primary and secondary metabolites in wild parsnip foliage are unaffected by damage. Those that are affected may well play a role in resistance of parsnips to herbivores. Received 1 July 1998; accepted 28 September 1998.     

The occurrence of aristolochic acids in neotropical troidine swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Summary. Analysis of individuals of 17 troidine species demonstrated the presence of aristolochic acids in these butterflies in varying concentrations. Although aristolochic acids do not occur in Aristolochia galeata leaves, they were present in Battus polydamas larvae reared on these leaves, and thus may be synthesized by the larvae from chemical precursors in the plant. Received 17 August 1999; accepted 20 January 2000     

Colonial recognition of fungus in the fungus-growing ant Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Summary. Leaf cutting ants live in symbiosis with a basidiomycete fungus that is exploited as a source of nutrients for the ant larvae. Tests of fungus transport demonstrated that Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus workers discriminate concolonial fungus from alien fungus, and rejected the latter. Larvae and pupae of the ant were used as controls. Chemical analysis of the fungus revealed a great similarity between its hydrocarbon profile and that found on the ant brood. Experiments with lures showed that chemical extracts from the fungus are responsible for this discrimination process. Moreover, the presence of brood inside the fungus seemed to be important for discrimination of the fungus by workers. Resident workers accepted concolonial broodless fungus less than concolonial fungus inoculated with brood odor. Fungus seems to acquire colonial odor passively, simply by contact with the brood. The impact of fungus volume present in the nest on closure of the colony is discussed. We show here for the first time the importance of a symbiotic vegetal organism in colonial recognition in social insects. Received 14 April 2000; accepted 29 September 2000     

Role of surface chemical signals in egg cannibalism and intraguild predation in ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Summary. The eggs of some ladybirds are known to be toxic to intraguild ladybird predators. However, this defence is of little value if the eggs are killed before their toxicity becomes apparent. The results presented in this paper indicate that chemicals on the surface of the eggs of two species of ladybirds signal the relative risk of cannibalism and intraguild predation. In Adalia bipunctata and Coccinella septempunctata, 87% of the chemicals are alkanes. Each species of ladybird is less reluctant to eat their own eggs than those of the other species. This asymmetry is to be expected because there is a greater risk to ladybirds from intraguild predation than cannibalism. Similar alkanes to those on the surface of the eggs of A. bipunctata are present in tracks left by larvae and on the elytra of the adults of this species. Those in the larval tracks deter females from ovipositing in patches of prey already being attacked by their larvae and those on the elytra are used in mate recognition. That different context dependent messages could be signalled by similar chemicals is an example of semiochemical parsimony. Received 25 February 2000; accepted 22 May 2000     

Chemical defense of an earwig (Doru taeniatum)

Summary. The earwig Doru taeniatum (Dermaptera, Forficulidae) has a pair of defensive glands, opening on the 4th abdominal tergite, from which it discharges a spray when disturbed. It aims the discharges by revolving the abdomen, a maneuver that enables it simultaneously to use its pincers in defense. The secretion contains two quinones (methyl-1,4-benzoquinone and 2,3-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone) present in the glands as a crystalline mass, together with pentadecane and a (presumably) aqueous phase. The gland openings are minute, with the result that virtually no quinone crystals are expelled with the spray. Only the two liquid phases are discharged, together with the ca. 1% quinone they carry in solution. Such a solute-economizing discharge mechanism appears to be without parallel among insect defensive glands. Received 14 February 2000; accepted 21 February 2000     

Specificity of communication channels in four limacodid moths: Darna bradleyi, Darna trima, Setothosea asigna, and Setora nitens (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae)

Summary. Darna bradleyi Holloway, D. trima Moore, Setothosea asigna van Eecke and Setora nitens Walker are sympatric and coseasonal limacodid moths in plantations of oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq. (Arecales: Palmae), in Borneo, southeast Asia. We tested the hypothesis that these four species maintain reproductive isolation through specificity in diel periods of communication, microlocation for communication and/or communication signal (pheromone). Studying diel periodicity of calling behavior by female moths and response by male moths to traps baited with virgin females or synthetic pheromone, we determined that sexual communication of D. bradleyi and D. trima took place from ˜17:30 to 18:45 hr and that of S. asigna and S. nitens from ˜18:45 to 20:00 hr and from ˜18:30 to 19:30 hr, respectively. Over 80% of male S. asigna and S. nitens were captured in pheromone-baited traps suspended >5 m high, whereas male D. bradleyi and D. trima were captured mostly in traps <5 m high. Synthetic pheromone baits attracted male moths in a species-specific manner. Moreover, baits containing both S. asigna and S. nitens pheromones failed to attract any male moths, indicating that female S. asigna and S. nitens, with overlapping communication periods, use bifunctional pheromone components that attract conspecific males while repelling heterospecifics. Similarly, addition of D. bradleyi pheromone to S. asigna or S. nitens pheromone reduced attraction of male S. asigna and S. nitens. The failure of D. bradleyi and D. trima, which overlap in time and microlocation for communication, to evolve bifunctional pheromones may be attributed to the recent occurrence of sympatry between D. bradleyi and D. trima in Borneo, apparently too recent for bifunctional pheromones to have evolved. We conclude that D. bradleyi, D. trima, S. asigna and S. nitens utilize any or all of diel periodicity, intra and interspecific effects of communication signal and/or microlocation for signaling, allowing these limacodids to co-inhabit the same habitat and remain reproductively isolated. Received 5 May 2000; accepted 18 August 2000     

Sequestration of aristolochic acids by the pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.): evidence and ecological implications

Summary. It has long been assumed that the North American pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.) (Papilionidae, Troidini), is protected from natural enemies by aristolochic acids sequestered from its Aristolochia food plants. This study confirmed that populations of B. philenor from Virginia and east Texas sequester these compounds. A comparison of the aristolochic acid profiles of the Virginia butterflies and their A. macrophylla food plants revealed several differences. The aristolochic acid fraction of the foliage was dominated by aristolochic acids I and II, whereas the insects had a much lower proportion of aristolochic acid II and contained, in addition, substantial amounts of aristolochic acids Ia and IVa, which were not detected in the plants. The eggs, larval integument, osmeterial glands, pupal cuticle, and adults (wings and bodies) all contained aristolochic acids. These findings help explain the abundant ecological data indicating that both immature and adult B. philenor are unpalatable and protected from natural enemies. Received 7 April 2000; accepted 31 May 2000     

Chemical trail communication in the amblyoponine species Mystrium rogeri Forel (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Ponerinae)

Summary. Workers of the amblyoponine species Mystrium rogeri employ trail communication during recruitment to food sources and new nest sites. The trail pheromone originates from a hitherto unknown sternal gland located in the 7th abdominal sternite. The recruiting ant deposits the gland secretions by a special gaster-dragging behavior. The recruitment behavior can be complemented by a rapid vertical body shaking performed by some recruiting ants inside the nest. M. rogeri workers possess a large pygidial gland, the secretion of which elicits a repellent response in other ant species. Received 25 May 1998; accepted 15 June 1998.     

A sex pheromone component novel to Ostrinia identified from Ostrinia latipennis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Summary. Extracts from the sex pheromone gland of Ostrinia latipennis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) were analyzed by gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and GC-mass spectrometry. Only an EAD-active compound was detected in the extract, and it was identified as (E)-11-tetradecenol (E11-14:OH). In a wind-tunnel bioassay, E11-14:OH elicited a series of mate finding behaviors from males, although it was far less active than virgin females and crude extract of the pheromone gland. The attractiveness of E11-14:OH to O. latipennis males was confirmed by field trapping experiments. Based on these findings, we concluded that E11-14:OH, which is novel to the genus Ostrinia, is a major component of the sex pheromone in O. latipennis. The significance of the use of alcohol in place of the usual acetates in Ostrinia is discussed in relation to the pheromone biosynthesis system. Received 9 December 1999; accepted 14 March 2000     

A survey of antennal responses by five species of coniferophagous bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) to bark volatiles of six species of angiosperm trees

Summary. Using Porapak Q traps, we collected the bark volatiles of six angiosperm trees native to British Columbia: black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa Torr. & A. Gray (Salicaceae), trembling aspen, P. tremuloides Michx. (Salicaceae), paper birch, Betula papyrifera Marsh. (Betulaceae), bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum Pursh (Aceraceae), red alder, Alnus rubra Bong. (Betulaceae), and Sitka alder, A. viridis ssp. sinuata (Regel) á. L?ve & D. L?ve (Betulaceae). Utilising coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection analysis, the captured volatiles were assayed for antennal responses in five species of coniferophagous bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), sympatric with most or all of the angiosperm trees: the Douglas-fir beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins, the mountain pine beetle, D. ponderosae Hopkins, the spruce beetle, D. rufipennis (Kirby), the western balsam bark beetle, Dryocoetes confusus Swaine, and the pine engraver, Ips pini (Say). The identities of 25 antennally-active compounds were determined by coupled gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic analysis, and co-chromatographic comparisons with authentic chemicals. The compounds identified were: hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, heptanal, α-pinene, frontalin, benzaldehyde, β-pinene, 2-hydroxycyclohexanone, 3-carene, limonene, β-phellandrene, benzyl alcohol, (E)-ocimene, salicylaldehyde, conophthorin, guaiacol, nonanal, methyl salicylate, 4-allylanisole, decanal, thymol methyl ether, (E)-nerolidol, and dendrolasin. A number of these compounds are known semiochemicals that are active in the behaviour of other organisms, including bark beetles, suggesting a high degree of semiochemical parsimony. Antennally-active compounds ranged from seven in A. viridis to 17 in P. trichocarpa. The fewest number of compounds (9) were detected by I. pini and the largest number (24) were detected by D. pseudotsugae. Six compounds excited the antennae of all five species of bark beetles. The large number of antennally-active compounds detected in common by numerous bark beetles and present in common in numerous nonhost trees supports the hypothesis of olfaction-based recognition and avoidance of nonhost angiosperm trees during the process of host selection by coniferophagous bark beetles. Received 13 December 1999; accepted 14 March 2000     

Sex pheromone components of male <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tirathaba mundella</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Summary. During peak calling activity by male oil palm bunch moths, Tirathaba mundella Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), their hairpencils, wings or entire body were extracted in hexane. Gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses of hair pencil extracts revealed four compounds that consistently elicited responses from female antennae. The NMR spectrum of isolated compound 1, and mass spectra and retention indices of compounds 1–4 suggested that they were (3S,6S)-2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyl-tetrahydro-pyran-3-ol (1), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde (2, vanillin), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone (3), and 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanol (4). Comparative GC and GC-MS analyses of hair pencils extract and synthetic standards confirmed these structural assignments. Moreover, comparative chromatography of synthetic and hairpencil-isolated 1 on a Cyclodex-B column (which separated the four stereoisomers with baseline resolution) revealed that male T. mundella produce the SS-stereoisomer (SS-1). In field cage bioassay experiments in Palembang, Indonesia, synthetic SS-1 and vanillin in combination, but not singly, attracted female T. mundella. SS-1 plus vanillin were as effective as male T. mundella in attracting females. Compounds 3 and 4 did not enhance the blend's attractiveness. Received October 11 2002; accepted March 14, 2003. R1D=" Correspondence to: Gerhard Gries, email: gries@sfu.ca     

Lingual and biting responses to prey chemicals by ingestively naive scincid lizards: discrimination from control chemicals,time course,and effect of method of stimulus presentation

Summary. We tested responses to prey chemicals by lizard hatchlings of an oviparous species and neonates of a viviparous species, neither of which had never eaten. Both species responded more strongly to prey chemicals than to odorous and odorless control stimuli presented on cotton swabs. Although only a few species have been examined, all that have been tested have an innate capacity for prey chemical discrimination, suggesting that this innate response to prey chemicals is widespread among lizards that use the lingual-vomeronasal system to locate and identify prey. Innate prey chemical discrimination has the great advantage of permitting lizards lacking prior experience with food to respond appropriately to chemical cues associated with food. Both species discriminated prey chemicals from control substances at age three days, earlier than previously known. Our data hint that Mabuya macularia may be capable of discrimination on its day of birth, but further study is needed to determine the exact onset. A stronger tendency to attack swabs bearing prey chemicals by Scincella lateralis than by M. macularia may be explained by differences in defensiveness near an experimenter or by differences in the importance of visual prey cues for confirmation of chemical cues in the natural habitats of these species. In M. macularia responses to the control stimuli declined over days of testing, suggesting habituation, but responses to prey chemicals did not habituate by the third day of testing, which is interpreted as a possible adaptive response to permit location of food. In the standard method of stimulus presentation, a cotton swab bearing a chemical stimulus is placed anterior to a lizard's snout. We tested a new method in which the swab was placed in continuous contact with the lizard's anterior labial scales. The new method elicited significantly stronger responses from M. macularia. We discuss reasons for this finding and applications for the new method. Received 2 September 1999; accepted 15 December 1999     

Induction of host specificity in larvae of Manduca sexta: chemical dependence controlling host recognition and developmental rate

Summary. The tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta L. (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) is a specialist on Solanaceae. This host specificity is induced as the larva feeds on solanaceous foliage, so that solanaceous-reared larvae will refuse to feed on other plants. Experiments were designed to determine the role of dietary constituents on the induction of host specificity and the effects of these on development of M. sexta. Choice assays using leaf discs of cowpea, Vigna sinensis (Fabaceae), were used to monitor the isolation of relevant chemical cues from foliage of potato. An aqueous extract of potato foliage strongly stimulated feeding. This extract was partitioned with n-butanol under alkaline conditions to obtain a highly active butanol extract. Reversed phase flash chromatography with a water-methanol gradient gave an active fraction that was used as a supplement for wheat germ-based artificial diet. Larvae reared on this s-diet became dependent on potato allelochemicals for initiation and continuation of feeding activity. These larvae also developed faster than larvae reared on the control p-diet, but no effect on adult mass was detected. Further flash chromatography of the active fraction under alkaline conditions provided a highly active sub-fraction, and semi-preparative HPLC using gradients of water and acetonitrile resulted in the isolation of a single compound. Bioassays indicated that this compound alone can account for host recognition by solanaceous-reared larvae. The results suggest that the mechanism of induced host specificity in M. sexta involves development of dependence on this compound. Received 21 December 1999; accepted 14 March 2000