Book ChapterDOI
The Consumption and Utilization of Food by Insects
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TLDR
It seems apparent that adaptive nutritional differences must be sought on a quantitative level and that a meaningful comparative nutrition of insects will not emerge until quantitative studies are emphasized.Abstract:
Publisher Summary A great deal is known concerning the qualitative nutritional requirements of insects. The quantitative aspects of insect nutrition have, however, received less attention, and there have been few studies on the rates of intake and the efficiency of food utilization. In particular, relatively little is known concerning the intake, digestibility and efficiency of conversion of defined diets. Quantitative work with artificial diets has usually involved only measurements of the amount of a particular nutrient required per unit of diet. Insects as a group feed upon a remarkably diverse list of organic substances. At the same time most species show a high degree of specificity in their choice of food. It seems apparent that adaptive nutritional differences must be sought on a quantitative level and that a meaningful comparative nutrition of insects will not emerge until quantitative studies are emphasized. The determination of absolute requirements for dietary constituents depends upon the measurement of intake. Differences in food efficiency can be demonstrated only by measuring intake and growth. Digestibility should also be measured since it can be expected to vary widely with different foods. The efficiency with which digested food is used for growth will vary not only with the maintenance requirement for energy but also with the balance of nutrients.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Herbivory in relation to plant nitrogen content
TL;DR: The evidence that N is scarce and perhaps a limiting nutrient for many herbivores, and that in response to this selection pressure, many Herbivores have evolved specific behavioral, morphological, physiological, and other adaptations to cope with and uti lize the ambient N levels of their normal haunts is examined.
MonographDOI
The insects: structure and function.
TL;DR: The aim of this monograph is to clarify the role of pheromones and chemicals in the lives of Insects and to propose a strategy to address their role in the food web.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evolutionary ecology of the relationship between oviposition preference and performance of offspring in phytophagous insects
TL;DR: Understanding of the relationships between oviposition preference and growth, survival, and reproduction of offspring is hampered by an almost complete lack of data on how preference and performance are related genetically.
Journal ArticleDOI
Trophic Relations of Aquatic Insects
TL;DR: The present focus is on the level at which generaliza tions are possible and the ecological importance of such generalizations, rather than the food habits of particular species.
Journal ArticleDOI
Specialization: species property or local phenomenon?
Laurel R. Fox,P. A. Morrow +1 more
TL;DR: Much evidence is incompatible with the widely held assumptions that diet breadth is a species characteristic and that specialization among herbivorous insects implies greater efficiency and less niche overlap.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Raison d'Être of Secondary Plant Substances: These odd chemicals arose as a means of protecting plants from insects and now guide insects to food
Journal ArticleDOI
Association of Illness with Prior Ingestion of Novel Foods
S. H. Revusky,E. W. Bedarf +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, rats were allowed to choose between a novel food and a familiar food and one hour later they were x-irradiated, and their preference for the novel food was less than that exhibited by appropriate controls.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Quantitative Nutritional Requirements of Drosophila Melanogaster
TL;DR: The minimal nutritional requirements of Drosophila larvae are shown to be considerably less than those of other aseptically cultured insects and, as far as the vitamins are concerned, only broadly related to the amounts found in yeast.
Journal Article
Studies on the Feeding and Nutrition of Tuberolachnus Salignus (Gmelin) (Homoptera, Aphididae)
TL;DR: In this paper, the sugar and nitrogen composition of the phloem sieve-tube sap ingested by Tuberolachnus salignus (Gmelin) feeding on Salix acutifolia stems, and the honeydew excreted by the aphids was investigated.