Theroa zethus Caterpillars Use Acid Secretion of Anti-Predator Gland to Deactivate Plant Defense.

ABSTRACT: In North America, notodontid caterpillars feed almost exclusively on hardwood trees. One notable exception, Theroa zethus feeds instead on herbaceous plants in the Euphorbiaceae protected by laticifers. These elongate canals follow leaf veins and contain latex under pressure; rupture causes the immediate release of sticky poisonous exudate. T. zethus larvae deactivate the latex defense of poinsettia and other euphorbs by applying acid from their ventral eversible gland, thereby creating furrows in the veins. The acid secretion softens the veins allowing larvae to compress even large veins with their mandibles and to disrupt laticifers internally often without contacting latex. Acid secretion collected from caterpillars and applied to the vein surface sufficed to create a furrow and to redu

SUBMITTER: Dussourd DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4627776 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature