New Prey-predator Association in Aposematic Pyrrhocorid Bugs : Antilochus coqueberti as a Specialist Predator on Dysdercus Species(Behavior and Ecology)

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We investigated the prey-predator relationship between aposematic pyrrhocorid bugs, Antilochus coqueberti and Dysdercus cingulatus. They are similar in appearance and often found in the same habitat simultaneously. Carnivory of A. coqueberti on D. cingulatus and D. decussatus was observed in the field, and A. coqueberti could not develop when experimentally fed on only plant materials, strongly indicating the obligate carnivory of A. coqueberti. While A. coqueberti did not prey on bugs in the families Lygaeidae, Largidae, Coreidae, and Rhopalidae that share the aposematic body coloration with A. coqueberti and D. cingulatus, A. coqueberti preyed on all the pyrrhocorids and alydids provided, regardless of their body coloration. Visual resemblance is only partially involved in the prey preference of A. coqueberti. We conclude that A. coqueberti is the obligate predator specialized to Dysdercus species.
日本昆虫学会の論文
2002-12-25