Abstract
The defensive secretion of the lubber grasshopper,Romalea microptera, shows extreme chemical variation among individual adults of the same sex within a single wild population. Certain phenolic compounds were absent in some individuals and present in others. Concentrations of compounds, when present, varied over two to three orders of magnitude. Chemical variation attributable to individuals accounted for 60–88% of the total quantitative variation and was evenly contributed by all individuals in both sexes. Cluster and regression analyses showed no discernible predictable patterns in the defensive secretion variation. The specificity of chemical cues used by predators may explain why these defenses are so idiosyncratic.
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Jones, C.G., Hess, T.A., Whitman, D.W. et al. Idiosyncratic variation in chemical defenses among individual generalist grasshoppers. J Chem Ecol 12, 749–761 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01012107
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01012107