Rejection of host plant by larvae of cabbage butterfly: Diet-dependent sensitivity to an antifeedant

Abstract

Garden nasturtium,Tropaeolum majus (Tropaeolaceae), is an acceptable host plant for the cabbage butterfly,Pieris rapae. Eggs are readily laid on the plant and hatching larvae feed and develop into normal pupae and adults. However, when second- to fifth-instar larvae were transferred from cabbage to nasturtium, they refused to feed and starved to death. Similar results were obtained when larvae were transferred from other host plants to nasturtium. However, larvae that were reared on nasturtium readily accepted cabbage as a new host plant. We have demonstrated the presence of strong antifeedants in nasturtium foliage and identified the most prominent active compound as chlorogenic acid. However, larvae reared on nasturtium had limited sensitivity, and larvae reared on a wheat germ diet were completely insensitive to the antifeedants. Larvae apparently develop sensitivity to the deterrent as a result of feeding on other host plants, whereas continuous exposure to the deterrent causes habituation or suppression of sensitivity development. The results demonstrate that dietary experience can dramatically affect the response of an insect to a potentially antifeedant compound in a plant.