Feeding behavior of graminivorous grasshoppers in response to host-plant extracts, alkaloids, and tannins.

Secondary metabolites exhibit the potential to direct food selection by grass-feeding (graminivorous) grasshoppers. We examined the effects of plant extracts and representative secondary metabolites on the feeding behavior of two such grasshoppers,Ageneotettix deorum (Scudder) andPhoetaliotes nebrascensis (Scudder). Three alkaloids and two tannins were bioassayed for their activity as feeding deterrent allelochemicals, as were extracts from the foliage of the graminoids commonly eaten by these grasshoppers:Agropyron smithii Rydb.,Andropogon hallii Hack.,Andropogon scoparius Michx.,Bouteloua gracilis (H. B. K) Lag. ex Griffiths,Carex heliophila Mack. andStipa comata Trin. & Rupr. Alkaloids strongly deterred feeding but tannins only exhibited a weak effect, even when present at four times the concentration of total phenolics typical for these graminoids. Host-plant extracts also exhibited weak effects, such that we found no evidence for either strong deterrence or phagostimulation. Our results for alkaloids and host-plant extracts are consistent with the view that grass-feeding grasshoppers may be restricted to graminoids because of: (1) the presence of deterrents in nonhosts and (2) the absence of deterrents in hosts. However, our data for tannins show that these are unlikely to be effective barriers to herbivory by these grasshoppers.