Pharmacophagous acquisition of clerodendrins by the turnip sawfly (Athalia rosae ruficornis) and their role in the mating behavior |
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Authors: | Takashi Amano Ritsuo Nishida Yasumasa Kuwahara Hiroshi Fukami |
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Affiliation: | (1) Laboratory of Chemical Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan, JP;(2) Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University Noji, Kusatsu 525-5755, Japan, JP |
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Abstract: | Summary. Adults of the turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae ruficornis (Tenthredinidae: Hymenoptera), frequently visit a plant, Clerodendron trichotomum (Verbenaceae), and feed pharmacophagously on the glandular trichomes on the leaf surface. A series of neo-clerodane diterpenoids (e.g. clerodendrins B and D) contained in glandular organs on the leaf surface stimulate feeding of the sawflies (both males and females). The adults fed selectively on the trichomes were found to sequester a series of the bitter-tasting diterpenes (clerodendrin D, ajugachin A, athaliadiol) in the body tissues, which suggested their primary role as defense substances against predators. Females fed on Clerodendron leaves or on clerodendrin B or D were more successful in mating than unfed females. Thus, females seem to obtain an advantage in mating success through the acquisition of the defensive principles from the Clerodendron plant. Received 20 April 1999; accepted 29 June 1999 |
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Keywords: | :neo-clerodane diterpenoids clerodendrins Clerodendron trichotomum Verbenaceae Athalia rosae ruficornis turnip sawfly Tenthredinidae feeding stimulants pharmacophagy defense substance sex pheromone. |
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