Phenotypic plasticity in numbers of antennal chemoreceptors in a grasshopper: effects of food

Grasshoppers, Schistocerca americana, reared from hatching on artificial diet had fewer sensilla on the antennae in the final larval stage than insects reared on lettuce. This was true of basiconic and coeloconic sensilla (presumed olfactory) and trichoid sensilla (presumed gustatory). The degree of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Comparative Physiology 1998-07, Vol.183 (1), p.69-76
Main Authors: Bernays, E.A, Chapman, R.F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antennae
Antennal chemoreceptors
Artificial diets
Carvone
chalcone
Chemoreceptors
Citral
Coumarin
food plants
Grasshoppers
Guaiacol
Hatching
Insects
Lactuca sativa
Phenolic compounds
Phenols
Phenotypic plasticity
phenotypic variation
Salicin
Schistocerca americana
Sensilla
Volatile compounds
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Summary:Grasshoppers, Schistocerca americana, reared from hatching on artificial diet had fewer sensilla on the antennae in the final larval stage than insects reared on lettuce. This was true of basiconic and coeloconic sensilla (presumed olfactory) and trichoid sensilla (presumed gustatory). The degree of difference varied along the antenna and with sensillum type. Adding salicin to the diet restored the numbers of all types of sensillum to levels equal to, or approaching, those in lettuce-fed insects. The addition of some volatile compounds -- carvone (monoterpene), chalcone (flavonoid), citral (monoterpene) and guaiacol (phenolic) -- resulted in slight increases in number, but coumarin (phenylpropanoid) had no effect. None of the compounds, either singly or in combination, produced more sensilla than were present in plant fed insects.
ISSN:0340-7594
1432-1351
DOI:10.1007/s003590050235