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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399851
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Experimental and comparative analysis of masquerade in flea beetles (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae)

Author
item SHINOHARA, TADASHI - Shizuoka University
item Konstantinov, Alexander - Alex

Submitted to: JOURNAL OF ETHOLOGY
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/9/2024
Publication Date: 8/5/2024
Citation: Shinohara, T., Konstantinov, A.S. 2024. Experimental and comparative analysis of masquerade in flea beetles (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae). JOURNAL OF ETHOLOGY. 121:296-302. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2024.031.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2024.031

Interpretive Summary: Leaf beetles, especially flea beetles, are among the most important insects for U.S. agriculture. Many are serious pests and feed on crops destroying valuable plants costing millions of dollars annually. Others are important biological control agents that can be used to control unwanted and invasive weeds. This work describes interactions between flea beetles (prey) and their predators – jumping spiders. Both animals participate in predator/prey interactions that result in a special kind of mimicry called masquerade. Masquerading flea beetles, while feeding, make holes in leaf surfaces of their host plants, which approximate beetle bodies in size and color, which helps beetles to avoid predators. This study will be useful to biological control workers, taxonomists, ecologists, and anyone interested in plant feeding beetles and their interaction with host plants.

Technical Abstract: Prey animals often resemble inedible objects in their environment to avoid predation by visually oriented predators. One form of such camouflage which hinders correct prey recognition after being detected is known as a masquerade. Feeding damages on plant leaves are one of the common inedible objects in nature. Flea beetles can modify their background by feeding on leaves of their host plant, creating light- or dark-colored hole-like damages that resemble beetle body appearance. However, masquerade in flea beetles have not been tested experimentally. Here we tested the efficiency of the feeding pattern-dependent masquerade by carrying out predation experiments using jumping spider as a predator. Additionally, difference in frequency of feeding damages on leaves in each feeding type was examined. Our results showed that dark-colored beetles were more likely to avoid predation when they are placed on the background with feeding damages similar to their body in color. Such benefit from masquerade was not detected in light-colored beetles. By contrast, frequency of dark-colored holes was less than frequency of light-colored holes, suggesting predators are easier to encounter light-colored holes in the field and learn it as inedible objects. Thus, dark and light-colored flea beetles increase masquerade efficiency differently depending on their feeding behavior.