Abstract
A North African grasshopper (Poekilocerus bufonius (Klug 1882) (Pyrgomorphidae)), with warning coloration and which feeds on milkweeds (Asclepiadaceae), contains cardenolides similar to those found in the plant. These heart poisons which, like digitalis, excite nausea and vomiting are found in the insect's body tissues and can also be ejected in solution from its defensive glands. They thus form part of the grasshopper's defence mechanisms.
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EUW, J., FISHELSON, L., PARSONS, J. et al. Cardenolides (Heart Poisons) in a Grasshopper feeding on Milkweeds. Nature 214, 35–39 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/214035a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/214035a0
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