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Arthropods, 2025, 14(4): 174-186
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Article

First report on the gut metabolites of Hyposidra talaca and Biston suppressaria (Geometridae: Lepidoptera) from tea plantation of West Bengal, India, with an insight on its pesticide resistance property

Preeti Subba, Soumya Majumder, Malay Bhattacharya
Molecular Biology and Tissue Culture Laboratory, Department of Tea Science, University of North Bengal, Rajarammohunpur, Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

Received 3 April 2025;Accepted 10 May 2025;Published online 20 May 2025;Published 1 December 2025
IAEES

Abstract
Looper caterpillars, Biston suppressaria and Hyposidra talaca, are the major folivorous insect pests of tea plants in India. They cause 40-90% economic losses during severe infestations and have become unmanageable, presenting a substantial challenge to stakeholders. Chemical profiling of an organism holds great significance in exploring an organism's biology, behavior, and ecological interactions necessary for developing effective pest mitigation strategies. So, this research was aimed to analyze the gut metabolomes of these looper pests using GC-MS analysis. The results determined a total of twenty-eight metabolites in the gut of these pests that included fatty acids as major metabolites followed by alkanes, alcohols, and terpenoids. Among detected fatty acids, hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester; ethyl (9Z,12Z)-9,12-octadecadienoate, and stearic acid are the primary metabolites for pheromone biosynthesis. Moreover, the upregulation of these fatty acids is also associated with pesticide stress response in many lepidopteran pests. In addition, ten common compounds were obtained that indicate their shared habitat, i.e., tea plants. Squalene, a precursor molecule forthe synthesis of many steroidal hormones, was detected as one of the major metabolites in this study, highlighting the important role of microbes in the synthesis of squalene in these pests' guts. Hence, our study hypothesized that gut microbes mediated plant-derived sterol biosynthesis in these pests. Moreover, the detection of the fluorinated metabolites in the gut extracts indicated the possible contribution of the gut microorganisms towards the breakdown of pesticides (fluorinated). Thus, targeting these gut bacteria interferes with the physiological function of the looper pestsand facilitates the development of effective pest management strategies.

Keywords tea looper;chemical ecology;GC-MS;fatty acids;pheromones;detoxification;pest management.


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