Abstract
Herbivorous insects frequently exhibit sexual dimorphism in body size and a variety of other traits. Such differences often lead to distinct behaviors, which may present themselves in insect responses to conspecifics, plant defenses, and feeding. Based on a previous study of a congeneric species, we hypothesized that sexual dimorphism may yield differences in how the host-specific red milkweed beetle Tetraopes tetrophthalmus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) deactivates milkweed defenses, a behavior in which beetles cut latex-delivering veins prior to feeding. We also predicted that beetles would display differences in their subsequent feeding patterns and attraction of conspecifics. Although beetles were size dimorphic (females were larger than males), we did not find consistent differences in the rates of vein cutting or initiation of feeding between males and females. Females did, however, cut more milkweed veins per leaf, and attracted more conspecifics than males. Sex differences in size and other traits were thus associated with differential attraction, but not strongly associated with the overall deactivation of plant defense.
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All data from this study will be accessible after publication from: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25037171.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Amy Hastings for assistance in beetle collection and National Science Foundation grant IOS-2209762 to AAA for financial support.
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This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant IOS-2209762 to AAA.
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Anurag Agrawal and Emma Craig conceptualized the study and designed the experiments. Emma Craig wrote the first draft of the manuscript and all authors participated in additional writing and editing. The bulk of field work and data collection was done by Emma Craig (Experiment 1 - Trials 1, 3, 4 and Experiment 2) and Max Goldman (Experiment 1 - Trial 2), and data was analyzed by Anurag Agrawal.
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Craig, E.J., Goldman, M.B. & Agrawal, A.A. Sexual Dimorphism, Deactivation of Plant Defense, and Attraction of Conspecifics in the Four-Eyed Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus). J Insect Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-024-09847-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-024-09847-w