Hornworm caterpillars eat tomato, tobacco, pepper and other crops. Kaplan said understanding their physiology may lead to better ways to control the pests.
Kaplan said the scientists found an interesting way to work around a major roadblock in studying the physiological changes in the caterpillars exposed to predators. They "disarmed" the predators.
Stink bugs normally would use their mouthparts to stab the caterpillar and suck out its internal parts. But the scientists removed part of the stink bugs' mouthparts, allowing them to hunt but not eat.
"We created a predator that couldn't kill its prey," Kaplan said. "It was a way to be able to expose the prey to a risk and still be able to study the physiological responses of the prey."
The scientists also wondered whether the physiological responses were due to the presence of the predator or simply from a lack of food. To test, they removed food from some caterpillars that had eaten as much as a caterpillar facing a predator. Other caterpillars were given food off and on until they had eaten the same amount as one facing a predator to better mimic those same feeding patterns.
In both cases, the caterpillars weighed less and did not exhibit the same physiological changes as their hunted counterparts.
"This is a predator response rather than a physiological response due to a lack of food," Kaplan said.
| Contact: Brian Wallheimer bwallhei@purdue.edu 765-496-2050 Purdue University Source:Eurekalert |