Abstract
It is commonly held that food-aversion learning should be more prevalent in polyphagous herbivores than in specialists. We tested the ability of Popillia japonica, a polyphagous scarab, to learn avoidance of a palatable but illness-inducing plant. Beetles that feed on flowers of geranium, Pelargonium × hortorum, became paralyzed, although most recovered within 24 h. In choice tests, naive beetles strongly preferred geranium petals over leaves of linden, Tilia cordata, a highly suitable host. Experienced beetles maintained this preference although it resulted in repeated bouts of paralysis. Fecundity was >10 times higher for beetles fed linden foliage for 2 wk than for those fed only geranium. Nevertheless, when a surplus of both foods was provided, the beetles fed mainly on geranium, resulting in greatly reduced fecundity. These results contradict the view that generalists should show propensity for food-aversion learning. Indeed, in this case, P. japonica continued to prefer the toxic plant, compromising its fitness.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Potter, D.A., Held, D.W. (1999). Absence of food-aversion learning by a polyphagous scarab, Popillia japonica, following intoxication by geranium, Pelargonium × hortorum . In: Simpson, S.J., Mordue, A.J., Hardie, J. (eds) Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships. Series Entomologica, vol 56. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1890-5_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1890-5_9
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