Insect defences: taste alteration and endoparasites

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior
• Chemical ecology
• Insect pathology

Background:

• Animal taste perception and food choices can adapt to physiological needs, such as nutrient deficiencies.
• Phytochemicals are plant compounds that can have defensive roles, including toxicity to parasites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if lethal parasite infections alter taste perception in caterpillars.
• To determine if altered taste preferences encourage increased consumption of parasite-defensive phytochemicals.

Main Methods:

• Experiments were conducted on two species of caterpillars infected with lethal parasites.
• Taste responses to specific phytochemicals were assessed in both infected and uninfected larvae.

Main Results:

• Infection by lethal parasites significantly altered the taste sensation of specific phytochemicals in caterpillars.
• Parasitized caterpillars showed a changed perception of compounds toxic to their invaders.

Conclusions:

• Altered taste perception in parasitized caterpillars may promote increased intake of plant compounds that confer biochemical defense.
• This adaptive feeding response could enhance caterpillar survival by increasing consumption of parasite-toxic substances.