2002/05/01 by David W. Boyd, Allen Carson Cohen, David R. Alverson · 7 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Hemiptera Insect Studies #Entomopathogenic Microorganisms in Pest Control #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
paper · pdf · doi:10.1603/0013-8746(2002)095[0395:deasmo]2.0.co;2
Mixed-feeding habits, such as zoophytophagy, make the ecological roles of many species of insects, especially hemipterans, difficult to assess. To understand the feeding adaptations of the predacious plant bug Deraeocoris nebulosus (Uhler), the digestive enzymes from the salivary glands and anterior midgut were analyzed, and the mouthpart stylets were investigated with scanning electron microscopy. Evidence of trypsin-like enzyme, α-glucosidase, and pectinase were found in the salivary glands. Low levels of trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like, elastase-like, and pectinase activity, with high levels of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity, were found in the anterior midgut. The insect’s right maxillary stylet has two rows of at least six recurved barbs on the inner surface pointing away from the head. This plant bug is equipped mainly for zoophagy but has enzymes that would allow some degree of phytophagy.