Abstract
The host-selection behavior of three species of grasshopper feeding on creosote bush,Larrea tridentata, in southern California was investigated. The species wereBootettix argentatus, which is monophagous;Ligurotettix coquilletti, oligophagous; andCibolacris parviceps, polyphagous. The monophagous species is stimulated to bite by nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a compound that is characteristic of the host plant and that may comprise up to 10% of the dry weight of the leaf. Host specificity ofB. argentatus is enhanced by deterrent responses to compounds present in the surface waxes of all non-host-plant species. Both the oligophagous and polyphagous species are deterred by NDGA at naturally occurring concentrations. Their association withLarrea is probably based on tolerance of the plant chemicals rather than on dependence on specific chemicals. Factors other than the chemistry of the plant probably also contribute to the specificity ofB. argentatus andL. coquilletti.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball, E.D., Tinkham, E.R., Flock, R., andVorhies, C.T. 1942. The grasshoppers and other Orthoptera of Arizona.Tech. Bull. Univ. Ariz. Coll. Agric. 93:275–373.
Bernays, E.A., andBarbehenn, R. 1987. Nutritional ecology of grass foliage-chewing insects, pp. 147–175,in F. Slansky and J. G. Rodriguez (eds.). Nutritional Ecology of Insects, Mites, and Spiders. Wiley, New York.
Bernays, E.A., andChapman, R.F. 1978. Plant chemistry and acridoid feeding behavior, pp. 99–141,in J.B. Harborne (ed.). Biochemical Aspects of Plant and Animal Coevolution. Academic Press, London.
Cassier, P. 1960. Le phototropisme du criquet migrateur.Bull. Soc. Zool. Fr. 85:165–174.
Chapman, R.F. 1954. Responses ofLocusta migratoria migratorioides (R. & F.) to light in the laboratory.Br. J. Anim. Behav. 2:146–152.
Chapman, R.F., andBernays, E.A. 1977. The chemical resistance of plants to insect attack.Scr. Varia 41:603–643.
Greenfield, M.D., andShelly, T.E. 1985. Alternative mating strategies in a desert grasshopper: evidence for density-dependence.Anim. Behav. 33:1192–1210.
Greenfield, M.D., Shelly, T.E., andDownum, K.R. 1987. Variation in host plant quality: Implications for territoriality in a desert grasshopper.Ecology 68:828–838.
Jago, N.D. 1971. A review of the Gomphocerinae of the world with a key to the genera (Orthoptera, Acrididae).Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 123:205–343.
Joern, A. 1979. Feeding patterns in grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae): Factors influencing diet specialization.Oecologia 38:325–347.
Mabry, T.J., Difeo, D.R., Sakakibara, M. Bohnstedt, C.F., andSeigler, D. 1977. The natural products chemistry ofLarrea, pp. 115–134,in T.J. Mabry, J.H. Hunziker, and D.R. Difeo (eds.). Creosote Bush. Biology and Chemistry ofLarrea in New World Deserts. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania.
Otte, D. 1981. The North American Grasshoppers, Vol. I. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Otte, D., andJoern, A. 1975. Insect territoriality and its evolution: Population studies of desert grasshoppers on creosote bushes.J. Anim. Ecol. 44:29–54.
Otte, D., andJoern, A. 1977. On feeding patterns in desert grasshoppers and the evolution of specialized diets.Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 128:89–126.
Rhoades, D.F. 1977a. The antiherbivore chemistry ofLarrea, pp. 135–175,in T.J. Mabry, J.H. Hunziker, and D.R. Difeo (eds.). Creosote Bush. Biology and Chemistry ofLarrea in New World Deserts. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania.
Rhoades, D.F. 1977b. Integrated antiherbivore, antidesiccant and ultraviolet screening properties of creosote bush resin.Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 5:281–290.
Schultz, J.D., Otte, D., andEnders, F. 1977.Larrea as a habitat component for desert arthropods, pp. 176–208,in T.J. Mabry, J.H. Hunziker, and D.R. Difeo (eds.). Creosote Bush. Biology and Chemistry ofLarrea in New World Deserts. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania.
Seigler, D.S., Jakupcak, J., andMabry, T.J. 1974. Wax esters fromLarrea divaricata Cav.Phytochemistry 13:983–986.
Woodhead, S. 1982.p-Hydroxybenzaldehyde in the surface wax of sorghum: its importance in seedling resistance to acridids.Entomol. Exp. Appl. 31:296–302.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chapman, R.F., Bernays, E.A. & Wyatt, T. Chemical aspects of host-plant specificity in threeLarrea-feeding grasshoppers. J Chem Ecol 14, 561–579 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013907
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013907