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Stökl, Johannes ; Machacek, Zora ; Ruther, Joachim:
Behavioural flexibility of the chemical defence in the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina heterotoma.
In: The Science of Nature.
Bd. 102
(2015)
Heft 11-12
.
- 67.
ISSN 1432-1904
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1317-0
Abstract
Many insects use chemical defence mechanisms to defend themselves against predators. However, defensive secretions are costly to produce and should thus only be used in cases of real danger. This would require that insects are able to discriminate between predators to adjust their chemical defence. Here, we show that females of the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina heterotoma adjust the intensity of their chemical defence to differently sized predators. If attacked by Myrmica ants, the females always released their defensive secretion, which consists mainly of (−)-iridomyrmecin. However, if attacked by smaller Cardiocondyla ants, most females did not release any defensive spray, irrespective of the duration of the ant’s aggression. When in contact with non-aggressive Nasonia wasps, the females of L. heterotoma did not release any defensive secretion. Our data show that females of L. heterotoma are able to discriminate between two predators and suggest that a predator of a certain size or strength is necessary to trigger the chemical defence mechanism of L. heterotoma.
Weitere Angaben
| Publikationsform: | Artikel in einer Zeitschrift |
|---|---|
| Begutachteter Beitrag: | Ja |
| Zusätzliche Informationen: | BAYCEER147496 |
| Institutionen der Universität: | Forschungseinrichtungen Forschungseinrichtungen > Zentrale wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen Forschungseinrichtungen > Zentrale wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen > Bayreuther Zentrum für Ökologie und Umweltforschung - BayCEER |
| Titel an der UBT entstanden: | Nein |
| Themengebiete aus DDC: | 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik |
| Eingestellt am: | 12 Apr 2019 06:38 |
| Letzte Änderung: | 07 Jul 2023 08:52 |
| URI: | https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/48351 |