Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (1978) 24, 244-253

E.A. Bernays (1978)
Tannins: an alternative viewpoint
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 24 (3), 244-253
Abstract: Experiments are described where different grasshopper species (Schistocerca gregaria, S. americana, S. cancellata and Locusta migratoria) were fed with wheat leaves with or without added tannin. Condensed tannin and hydrolysable tannin were tested in separate experiments, and the survival, growth, consumption, digestion, and efficiency of conversion of digested food were all measured. In no case was digestion reduced by the addition of tannin to the diet. In the graminivorous L. migratoria, however, hydrolysable tannin had a deleterious effect on the insect because in this species it passed through the peritrophic membrane and severely damaged the epithelium of the midgut and caeca. The evolutionary implications of these effects and lack of them are discussed, and the need for caution is stressed regarding generalisations concerning plants which contain tannins, and the herbivores which feed on them.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied from Acridological Abstracts with permission by NRI, Univ. of Greenwich at Medway.)
Link to article at publishers website

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

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Schistocerca gregaria
	Locusta migratoria
	Schistocerca americana
	Schistocerca cancellata