Prolonged copulation: A male ?postcopulatory? strategy in a promiscuous species, Lygaeus equestris (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae)

1981 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Sill�n-Tullberg
Oikos ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christer Solbreck ◽  
Birgitta Sillén-Tullberg ◽  
Birgitta Sillen-Tullberg

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Prayan Pokharel ◽  
Marlon Sippel ◽  
Andreas Vilcinskas ◽  
Georg Petschenka

Predators and parasitoids regulate insect populations and select defense mechanisms such as the sequestration of plant toxins. Sequestration is common among herbivorous insects, yet how the structural variation of plant toxins affects defenses against predators remains largely unknown. The palearctic milkweed bug Lygaeus equestris (Heteroptera: Lygaeinae) was recently shown to sequester cardenolides from Adonis vernalis (Ranunculaceae), while its relative Horvathiolus superbus also obtains cardenolides but from Digitalis purpurea (Plantaginaceae). Remarkably, toxin sequestration protects both species against insectivorous birds, but only H. superbus gains protection against predatory lacewing larvae. Here, we used a full factorial design to test whether this difference was mediated by the differences in plant chemistry or by the insect species. We raised both species of milkweed bugs on seeds from both species of host plants and carried out predation assays using the larvae of the lacewing Chrysoperla carnea. In addition, we analyzed the toxins sequestered by the bugs via liquid chromatography (HPLC). We found that both insect species gained protection by sequestering cardenolides from D. purpurea but not from A. vernalis. Since the total amount of toxins stored was not different between the plant species in H. superbus and even lower in L. equestris from D. purpurea compared to A. vernalis, the effect is most likely mediated by structural differences of the sequestered toxins. Our findings indicate that predator–prey interactions are highly context-specific and that the host plant choice can affect the levels of protection to various predator types based on structural differences within the same class of chemical compounds.


1974 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Kugelberg

AbstractThe seed-feeding bug Lygaeus equestris changes and extends its food plant spectrum during its life-cycle. Whether this is the result of only the natural succession of the food plants, or also includes a change in the insect's food preference during its life, was the primary question of the present paper. Feeding-choice tests using ripe seeds from important food plants in the laboratory showed that Cynanchum vincetoxicum seeds were preferred during all stages of life. Among the lesser preferred seeds tested, a shift in preference occurred during the bug's development. It seems probable that this shift may be due as much to the physical as to the chemical properties of the seeds. It is suggested that most of the other plant species exploited for feeding by L. equestris probably serve mainly as substitute food when suitable developmental stages of C. vincetoxicum are absent or in short supply. Furthermore the paper gives some notes on duration of feeding upon seeds and effects of seed coat at initiation of feeding on Cynanchum and Helianthus seeds. During the third larval instar, the preference switches from the endosperm to the seed coat for initiation of feeding on Cynanchum seeds, and so it remains during the following stages. On Helianthus seeds, only adult L. equestris feed as willingly through the coat as directly from the endosperm.


Oikos ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christer Solbreck ◽  
Rolf Olsson ◽  
David B. Anderson ◽  
Jonas Förare ◽  
Jonas Forare

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (03) ◽  
pp. 119-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-ichi Harano ◽  
Seiji Tanaka ◽  
Hiroe Yasui ◽  
Sadao Wakamura ◽  
Atsushi Nagayama ◽  
...  

Oikos ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Sillén-Tullberg ◽  
Christer Solbreck ◽  
Birgitta Sillen-Tullberg

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