ANALYSIS OF THE CHEMICAL DEFENSE SYSTEM IN AN INSECT LARVA BY TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Larvae of the sawfly Rhadinoceraea nodicornis Konow (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) living on the plant Veratrum album L. (Liliales, Melanthiaceae) are efficiently protected against ants and spiders. Moreover, when their haemolymph was offered in a sugar solution, ants were still deterred. The chemical defence system of these larvae was investigated and the structures of the biologically active compounds determined by tandem mass spectrometry. Plant-derived alkaloids both in original and metabolized form were found in the larval haemolymph.