Abstract
Feeding responses to four cucurbitacins (B, E, I and E-glucoside) were investigated in three cucurbitaceous feeding leaf beetles, Aulacophora femoralis (Motschulsky), A. lewisii Baly and A. nigripennis Motschulsky by filter paper assay. A. femoralis and A. lewisii were strongly stimulated to feed by four cucurbitacins, and A. nigripennis was weakly stimulated to feed by cucurbitacin B at a concentration of only 0.01 mg/ml. A. nigripennis showed no significant feeding stimulant activity to cucurbitacins by a leaf disk assay. These results indicate that not all cucurbitaceous feeding beetle species are strongly stimulated to feed by cucurbitacins.
