Plant phenols utilized as nutrients by a phytophagous insect

Abstract

Phenols are commonly regarded as feeding deterrents for phytophagous insects, but the tree locust Anacridium melanorhodon survives better and grows faster when certain phenols are added to a food plant that is relatively low in both protein and phenols. The phenols are at high concentration in the common host plants. Much of the phenol retained by the insect becomes bound in the cuticle where it probably stabilizes the protein.