Abstract
Zonocerus variegatus L. (Pyrgomorphidae) is a polyphagous, aposematic, West African grasshopper, the dry season populations of which are nowadays a pest in agriculture and forestry. The insects seem to gain protection from predation by storing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from plant sources: (1) Bernays et al. (1977) reported storage of monocrotaline as the main PA in specimens reared on Crotalaria retusa (Fabaceae); (2) Boppre et al. (1984) found a close relative, Z. elegans, to be attracted to sources of dry PA-containing plants as well as to pure PAs, suggesting a pharmacophagous relationship of Zonocerus to PAs (cf. Boppre, 1986). In this paper, we report on sequestration of PAs by Zonocerus from the Siam weed, Chromolaena odorata King & Robinson (Asteraceae) and discuss a striking influence that secondary compounds of an introduced non-host plant can have on native insect populations.
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