Leaf Petiole Chewing and the Sabotage of Induced Defences

Abstract

By chewing through the leaf petiole, several Eucalyptus-feeding insect larvae remove the remains of leaves on which they have been feeding. This behaviour can be interpreted either as resulting in the removal of physico-chemical cues used by parasitoids in host-searching, or as preventing the transmission of induced defences between leaves. In an experimental test of the latter hypothesis, Perga dorsalis larvae were prevented from petiole-chewing, thus exposing them to putative host defences (...)