Biological activity of acyl glucose esters from Datura wrightii glandular trichomes against three native insect herbivores.

Datura wrightii is dimorphic for leaf trichome type in southern California. "Sticky" plants produce glandular trichomes that secrete acylsugars, whereas velvety plants produce nonglandular trichomes. Glandular trichomes confer resistance to some potential insect herbivores and are associated with reduced feeding in the field by two native coleopteran herbivores: the tobacco flea beetle, Epitrix hirtipennis, and a weevil, Trichobaris compacta. In contrast, another native beetle, Lema daturaphila, damages sticky and velvety plants similarly in the field. A series of choice and no-choice "ester removal" and "ester addition" feeding experiments were performed in the laboratory to evaluate the role of acylsugars in feeding by all three insect species. Consumption of sticky leaves after their esters were removed by washing was compared to consumption of unwashed sticky leaves and velvety leaves in ester removal experiments. Consumption of velvety leaves was measured after acylsugars were applied to those leaves in controlled amounts in the ester addition experiments. Consumption by E. hirtipennis was reduced by acylsugars in all experiments. Consumption by T. compacta was reduced by acylsugars in the ester removal experiments, but not in the ester addition experiments. The location of the acylsugars at the tip of a long trichome, rather than simply on the leaf surface, may be an important component of the biological activity of acylsugars against T. compacta in nature. Consumption by L. daturaphila was not significantly reduced by acylsugars in any experiment. The acylsugars caused no significant mortality of any of the three insect species.