Diet-related differences in the cuticular lipids ofManduca sexta larvae

Cuticular lipid components were examined from fourth-instar larvae ofManduca sexta reared on artificial diet or growing plants. The plants used were potato, tobacco, and tomato grown in pots in a greenhouse. Twenty-eight components made up the bulk of the lipids, but there were significant differences in the proportions of them present in insects reared on the different diets. In the case of some insect cuticular lipid components, there was an obvious relationship with the surface components of the plant, but generally this relationship was weak. Nonetheless, the differences may have ecological relevance, as indicated by preliminary work on predation.