Ia. Southwell et al., METABOLISM OF 1,8-CINEOLE IN TEA TREE (MELALEUCA-ALTERNIFOLIA AND MELALEUCA-LINARIIFOLIA) BY PYRGO BEETLE (PAROPSISTERNA-TIGRINA), Journal of chemical ecology, 21(4), 1995, pp. 439-453
The frass of the pyrgo beetle (Paropsisterna tigrina) feeding on comme
rcial plantations of the terpinen-4-ol chemical variety of the Austral
ian tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, was found to contain a volatile
oil almost identical to the essential oil of the ingested leaf. When b
eetles were fed leaf containing substantial quantities of 1,8-cineole,
the predominant frass metabolite as determined by MS, IR, C-13 and H-
1 NMR, GC, and CoGC was (+)-2beta-hydroxycineole. Both male and female
adults and larvae metabolized Melaleuca oils in similar ways.