Does Tribolium brevicornis cuticular chemistry deter cannibalism and predation of pupae?
1Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege- Passage des
Déportés, 2 B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium
2Penn State University, College of Agricultural Sciences, Entomology Department
3Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Agricultural Research Center, Hays, Kansas
4Department of Analytical Chemistry, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liege- Passage des Déportés, 2 B-5030
Gembloux, Belgium
Abstract
The cuticular hydrocarbons of insects are species-specific and often function as semiochemicals. The activity of Tribolium brevicornis cuticular hydrocarbons as feeding deterrents that ostensibly function to prevent pupal cannibalism and predation was evaluated. The cuticular hydrocarbons of T. brevicornis pupae were characterized and flour disk bioassays conducted with individual and combined extract components incorporated into artificial diets on which Tribolium adults fed for six days. Feeding by T. brevicornis and T. castaneum on flour disks containing cuticular extracts of T. brevicornis pupae resulted in reduced consumption and weight loss relative to feeding on control flour disks. In both cases, feeding deterrence indices exceeded 80% suggesting that T. brevicornis cuticular hydrocarbons could function to deter cannibalism and predation of pupae by larvae and adult beetles. Sixteen different cuticular hydrocarbons were identified in T. brevicornis pupal extracts. Eight of the commercially available linear alkanes were tested individually in feeding trials with eight Tribolium species. One compound (C28) significantly reduced the amount of food consumed by three species compared to control disks, whereas the compounds C25, C26, and C27 elicited increased feeding in some species. Four other compounds had no effect on consumption for any species. When four hydrocarbon mixtures were tested for synergistic deterrence on T. brevicornis and T. castaneum, none significantly influenced consumption. Our results indicate that the cuticular chemistry of T. brevicornis pupae could serve to deter predation by conspecific and congeneric beetles.
Keywords: cuticular hydrocarbons, feeding deterrence, flour disks, pupal defense
Correspondence:
a tafalabi@doct.ulg.ac.be,
b jmd469@psu.edu,
c jpmi@ksu.edu,
d fverheggen@ulg.ac.be,
e Georges.Lognay@ulg.ac.be,
f e.haubruge@ulg.ac.be,*Corresponding author
Editor: Tugrul Giray was Editor of this paper.
Received: 9 October 2010 | Accepted: 21 July 2011 | Published: 7 September 2011
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 11, Number 115
Alabi T, Dean J, Michaud JP, Verheggen F, Lognay G, Haubruge E. Does Tribolium brevicornis cuticular chemistry deter cannibalism and predation of pupae? Journal of Insect Science 11:115 available online: insectscience.org/11.115
 Figure 1 |
 Figure 2 |
 Figure 3 |
 Figure 4 |