Open AccessOBSERVATIONS ON DISTASTEFULNESS OF MONISTRIA CONCINNA (WALKER) (ORTHOPTERA: PYRGOMORPHIDAE)
Author(s) -
Francis R. Groeters,
Strong KathleenL.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
australian journal of entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1440-6055
pISSN - 1326-6756
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1993.tb00564.x
Subject(s) - grasshopper , biology , aposematism , skink , orthoptera , tettigoniidae , zoology , acrididae , tribe , lizard , ecology , botany , predation , sociology , anthropology , predator
Conspicuous colour patterns of grasshoppers in the tribe Monistriini are thought to represent aposematic colouration, although no direct evidence for grasshopper distastefulness exists. We found that Monistria concinna repelled attacks by the skink Lampropholis delicata using noxious compounds on the surface of its body. Skinks learned to avoid attacking M. concinna apparently using a combination of visual and chemoreceptory cues. These results confirm the postulated aposematic nature of the grasshopper's colour pattern.