Chemoecology (1999) 9, 145-150

Takashi Amano, Ritsuo Nishida, Yasumasa Kuwahara and Hiroshi Fukami (1999)
Pharmacophagous acquisition of clerodendrins by the turnip sawfly (Athalia rosae ruficornis) and their role in the mating behavior
Chemoecology 9 (4), 145-150
Abstract: 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.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Ritsuo Nishida, Yasumasa Kuwahara

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Athalia rosae