24:
144:", because it is woven from narrow, coiled strands of frass. The larva begins feeding immediately upon emergence from the egg and within minutes it produces its first fecal strand. Within twelve hours, its thatch-shield is full-sized. The larva diligently repairs the shield with replacement strands when it is broken.
100:
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The fecal shield is beneficial, but it is not without its cost to the insect. Though it is made of waste products, the larva must exert energy simply to transport its weight. A fecal shield can weigh half as much as the larva itself. This energy might otherwise go into development. The shield is also
121:
When the shield is carried on the tip of the abdomen, it is secured to a double-lobed, spine-like process called the caudal furca, which is also known as the "anal fork". The larva constructs the shield by maneuvering its "muscular telescopic and highly protrusible
155:, the female adult coats each of her eggs with feces, and when the larva emerges, it uses this ready-made fecal casing as the base of its shield, adding to it as it grows. These casings tend to be quite hard, and have been compared to
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derivatives, and these are present in its feces. These chemicals can be a potent defense against predatory insects. For example, the larva of the tortoise beetle
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a problem for the larva when it has the opposite effect: its chemistry attracts predators instead of repelling them. Experiments with several larvae of genus
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The fecal shield takes many forms across species. In some, it covers the entire body, while in others it is narrower. In some, it is simply a "clump". In
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larvae are mobile. They are attached to the posterior end of the body and moved into position as needed, sometimes held in place above the larva like an
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23:
540:
508:
64:. The beetle may carry the shield on its back or wield it upon its posterior end. The main function of the fecal shield is
477:
Unexpected reactions of a generalist predator towards defensive devices of cassidine larvae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae).
234:
Another possible function of the fecal shield may include protection of the larva from environmental conditions such as
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The fecal shield is not just a physical barrier, but also a chemical one. When a larva feeds on a plant, it ingests
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often wear their fecal shields in piles on their backs, regularly adding material as bits chip off. The shields of
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Making scents of defense: do fecal shields and herbivore-caused volatiles match host plant chemical profiles?
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205:), excretes them, and incorporates them into its shield, where they repel the predatory ant
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Chemical defense in larval tortoise beetles: essential oil composition of fecal shields of
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68:. Other terms for the fecal shield noted in the literature include "larval clothing", "
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159:. Most fecal shields are bound with exuviae, the "skins" shed from the insect when it
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secretion, and places it on the caudal furca using its anal turret. In the species
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Do fecal shields provide physical protection to larvae of the tortoise beetles
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Other leaf beetle larvae build a case made of waste materials. Examples are:
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Picky predators and the function of the faecal shield of a cassidine larva.
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Entomology and
Nematology. University of Florida IFAS. 1997, revised 2012.
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514:. College of Arts and Sciences. University of Colorado, Boulder. 2010.
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Defensive behaviors in leaf beetles: from the unusual to the weird.
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it may be hard or rather "pasty". In some species of the subfamily
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96:. They may be raised and even swung to strike a predator.
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obtains chemical compounds from its diet of bittersweet (
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Boheman, 1854 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae).
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Defensive use of a fecal thatch by a beetle larva (
225:show that their shields attract the predatory ant
169:, are entirely frass-free, made only of exuviae.
130:an amount of feces, sometimes with a droplet of
461:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
80:Beetle larvae of the chrysomelid subfamilies
52:family, Chrysomelidae. It is composed of the
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291:Nogueira-de-Sá, F. and J. R. Trigo. (2002).
493:Shield defense of a larval tortoise beetle.
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304:Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
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512:Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine
509:Tortoise beetles and fecal shields.
475:Müller, C. and M. Hilker. (1999).
452:Eisner, T. and M. Eisner. (2000).
14:
322:Bacher, S. and S. Luder. (2005).
389:. Springer Verlag, Berlin. 2011.
163:. Some shields, such as that of
407:Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
387:Chemical Biology of the Tropics
385:Vivanco, J. and T. Weir (Eds.)
349:and foliage of its host plant,
181:in the plant tissues, such as
1:
491:Vencl, F. V., et al. (1999).
398:Gomes, P. A., et al. (2012).
343:Gómez, N. E., et al. (1999).
117:larva constructing the shield
40:is a structure formed by the
56:of the insect and often its
496:Journal of Chemical Ecology
356:Journal of Chemical Ecology
221:that feed on volatile-rich
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431:Keefover-Ring, K. (2013).
15:
295:Plagiometriona flavescens
66:defense against predators
541:Antipredator adaptations
301:against natural enemies?
16:Not to be confused with
420:Golden Tortoise Beetle.
402:Omaspides pallidipennis
32:larva with fecal shield
347:Eurypedus nigrosignata
196:Plagiometriona clavata
118:
33:
236:ultraviolet radiation
179:secondary metabolites
109:
26:
456:Hemisphaerota cyanea
137:Hemisphaerota cyanea
44:of many species of
377:2013-12-07 at the
351:Cordia curassavica
327:Functional Ecology
208:Formica subsericea
166:Cassida stigmatica
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60:, or bits of shed
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202:Solanum dulcamara
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29:Cassida viridis
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536:Insect ecology
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482:118(2) 166-72.
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463:97(6) 2632-36.
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358:25(5) 1007-27.
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531:Chrysomelidae
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498:25(3) 549-66.
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153:Chrysomelinae
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272:Neochlamisus
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38:fecal shield
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27:
507:Mitton, J.
438:23(1) 1-11.
400:Biology of
381:Pp. 59-69.
370:Chaboo, C.
240:desiccation
149:consistency
86:Galerucinae
82:Criocerinae
62:exoskeleton
50:leaf beetle
18:Face shield
525:Categories
279:References
115:rubiginosa
90:Cassidinae
480:Oecologia
183:alkaloids
70:kotanhang
375:Archived
254:See also
187:saponins
173:Function
128:excretes
94:umbrella
218:Cassida
111:Cassida
76:Ecology
58:exuviae
48:in the
46:beetles
246:, and
191:phytol
189:, and
142:thatch
42:larvae
546:Feces
266:Exema
223:tansy
161:molts
157:adobe
132:gluey
54:frass
297:and
269:and
248:rain
244:wind
124:anus
84:and
36:The
383:In:
113:cf
527::
468:^
458:).
443:^
363:^
334:^
311:^
275:.
250:.
242:,
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20:.
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