Host-plant effects on larval survival of a salicin-using leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Several species of willow leaf beetles use hostplant salicin to produce a defensive secretion that consists of salicylaldehyde. Generalist arthropod predators such as ants, ladybird beetles, and spiders are repelled by this secretion. The beetle larvae produce very little secretion when they feed on willows that lack salicylates, and salicin-using beetles prefer salicylate-rich willows over salicylate-poor ones.

A HIERARCHICAL ANALYSIS OF GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION IN A MONTANE LEAF BEETLE CHRYSOMELA AENEICOLLIS (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE).

Herbivorous insects that use the same host plants as larvae and adults can have a subdivided population structure that corresponds to the distribution of their hosts. Having a subdivided population structure favors local adaptation of subpopulations to small-scale environmental differences and it may promote their genetic divergence. In this paper, I present the results of a hierarchical study of population structure in a montane willow leaf beetle, Chrysomela aeneicollis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Host plant preference based on salicylate chemistry in a willow leaf beetle (Chrysomela aeneicollis).

Chrysomela aeneicollis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) uses salicin from its host plant (Salix spp.) to produce a defensive secretion, salicylaldehyde. Because it requires salicin for this secretion, I predicted that C.