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Cyanoglycoside gynocardin fromAcraea horta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Acraeinae)

Possible implications for evolution of acraeine host choice

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Abstract

All stages in the life cycle ofAcraea horta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Acraeinae) were found to release hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from their crushed tissues, and the source of cyanogenesis was present in the hemolymph of adults and larvae. Comparison with standards on thin-layer chromatograms (TLC) revealed the presence in adults of gynocardin, a cyclopentenyl cyanoglycoside also produced by the larval food plant,Kiggelaria africana L. (Flacourtiaceae). Analysis of adults reared on plant species (Passifloraceae) containing gynocardin and/or other cyanoglycosides suggested selective uptake of gynocardin by the larvae. This is the first demonstration of a cyanoglycoside, other than the acyclic linamarin and lotaustralin, occurring in Lepidoptera and the first evidence for the storage byAcraea butterflies of a plant-produced allelochemical. Possible implications for the understanding of the evolution of acraeine host choice are discussed.

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Author notes

  1. David Raubenheimer

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX 13PS, Oxford, UK

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    David Raubenheimer

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Raubenheimer, D. Cyanoglycoside gynocardin fromAcraea horta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Acraeinae). J Chem Ecol 15, 2177–2189 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014108

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01014108

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