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Caterpillar Chemical Defense and Parasitoid Success: Cotesia congregata Parasitism of Ceratomia catalpae

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Abstract

Sequestration of plant compounds by herbivorous insects as a defense against predators is well documented; however, few studies have examined the effectiveness of sequestration as a defense against parasitoids. One assumption of the “nasty host” hypothesis is that sequestration of plant defense compounds is deleterious to parasitoid development. We tested this hypothesis with larvae of the sequestering sphingid Ceratomia catalpae, which is heavily parasitized by the endoparasitoid Cotesia congregata, despite sequestering high concentrations of the iridoid glycoside catalpol from their catalpa host plants. We collected C. catalpae and catalpa leaves from six populations in the Eastern US, and allowed any C. congregata to emerge in the lab. Leaf iridoid glycosides and caterpillar iridoid glycosides were quantified, and we examined associations between sequestered caterpillar iridoid glycosides and C. congregata performance. Caterpillar iridoid glycosides were not associated with C. congregata field parasitism or number of offspring produced. Although wasp survival was over 90% in all populations, there was a slight negative relationship between caterpillar iridoid glycosides and wasp survival. Iridoid glycosides were present in caterpillars at levels that are deterrent to a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate predators. Thus, our results support the alternative hypothesis that unpalatable, chemically defended hosts are “safe havens” for endoparasitoids. Future trials examining the importance of catalpol sequestration to potential natural enemies of C. congregata and C. catalpae are necessary to strengthen this conclusion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Karen Kester and Vanessa Crocker, Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University; Richard Olsen, USDA-ARS, Washington DC, and the U.S. National Arboretum; and Clyde Sorenson, Department of Entomology, NC State University for advice on catalpa sphinx locations and Laura McLoud for shipping caterpillars from Clemson, SC. Ellen Brown of the Reynolds Homestead Historical Site, Ernest and Fred Tyson, and David Pace permitted collections on private property. Richard Olsen, Carolina Quintero, Susan Whitehead, and two anonymous reviewers provided useful comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by NSF grant DEB 0614883 to MDB and LAD.

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  1. Evan C. Lampert

    Present address: School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, Gainesville State College, Gainesville, GA, 30503, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCB 334, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Evan C. Lampert & M. Deane Bowers

  2. Biology Department, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Lee A. Dyer

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  1. Evan C. Lampert
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Correspondence to M. Deane Bowers.

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Lampert, E.C., Dyer, L.A. & Bowers, M.D. Caterpillar Chemical Defense and Parasitoid Success: Cotesia congregata Parasitism of Ceratomia catalpae . J Chem Ecol 36, 992–998 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9840-0

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