Effects of plant phenols of performance of southern armyworm larvae.

We evaluated the effects of two classes of phenols on performance of penultimate instar southern armyworms, Spodoptera eridania. One class consisted of phenols containing a catechol (ortho-dihydroxybenzene) moiety and included chlorogenic acid, quercetin, rutin, and rhamnetin. A second group consisted of the phenolic glycoside salicin and its derivatives salicortin and tremulacin. The compounds were painted onto lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) leaves and fed to larvae for the duration of the fifth instar. Chlorogenic acid and rhamnetin had no deleterious effects; rutin and quercetin caused some mortality and rutin reduced growth rates by decreasing consumption and digestion efficiency. Results showed that ortho-dihydroxybenzene groups may be necessary, but are not sufficient for biological activity. Salicin did not affect larvae; salicortin and tremulacin reduced growth rates primarily by decreasing consumption. These two compounds also caused degenerative lesions in midgut tissues. The presence of a benzoyl ester group in tremulacin accentuates its toxicity, relative to that of salicortin.