Automated Barometric Chamber for Entomology Experiments: Arthropods’ Behavior and Insect-Plant Interactions

Plant polyploidy and insect/plant interactions.

We used flow cytometry and extensive geographic surveys of herbivore attack to test whether repeated evolution of autotetraploidy in the perennial herb Heuchera grossulariifolia Rydb. (Saxifragaceae) has created evolutionary barriers to attack by the specialist moth herbivore Greya politella (Prodoxidae). We found that the moth has colonized tetraploid as well as diploid populations, has coloni...

Plant–insect Interactions and Pollution

Cyanogenic glucosides and plant-insect interactions.

Cyanogenic glucosides are phytoanticipins known to be present in more than 2500 plant species. They are considered to have an important role in plant defense against herbivores due to bitter taste and release of toxic hydrogen cyanide upon tissue disruption. Some specialized herbivores, especially insects, preferentially feed on cyanogenic plants. Such herbivores have acquired the ability to me...

Plant–Insect Interactions Generalist Behavior Describes Pollen Foraging for Perceived Oligolectic and Polylectic Bees

Native bees provide essential pollination services to cultivated and wild plants worldwide. Despite the need to conserve pollinators, the foraging patterns of native bees are poorly understood. Classic concepts of resource use have typically categorized bee species as specialists or generalists based on floral visitation patterns. While intraspecific variation in bee foraging likely depends on ...

PLANT–MICROBE–INSECT INTERACTIONS: Cytokinins as key regulators in plant–microbe–insect interactions: connecting plant growth and defence

David Giron*, Enric Frago, Ga€ elle Glevarec, Corn e M. J. Pieterse and Marcel Dicke Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS – Universit e Franc ois-Rabelais, Tours, France; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK; Biomol ecules et Biotechnologies V eg etales, EA 2106 Universit e Franc ois-Rabelais, Tours, France; Plant-Microb...