Soluble carbohydrates in the nutrition of house longhorn beetle larvae, Hylotrupes bajulus (L.) (Col., Cerambycidae): from living sapwood to faeces

Abstract

: Water-soluble carbohydrates from (a) living sapwood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L); (b) dry sapwood blocks from Scots pine (EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 46, 1988); and (c) faeces from Hylotrupes bajulus (L) larvae feeding from these blocks were analysed. Living sapwood contains high amounts of sucrose, glucose, fructose and starch. These carbohydrates seem to be hydrolysed and metabolized during the production of the sapwood blocks. The faeces contain carbohydrates which are not present either in living sapwood or in the sapwood blocks: xylose and an oligosaccharide of uncertain composition. This oligosaccharide is the dominant water-soluble carbohydrate in the faeces. In contrast to living sapwood and sapwood blocks, the faeces contain considerable amounts of soluble β-glucans. The results show that the composition and the amounts of carbohydrates differ significantly from that in the sapwood blocks (fodder for the larvae). The α-glucans (starch) present in the wood are not significantly utilized by the larvae. Regarding soluble carbohydrates, diet wood has only little in common with the living wood of the standing tree.