Resumen de Secondary metabolites in the flower heads of haplopappus berterii (asteraceae) and its relation with insect-attracting mechanisms

Alejandro Urzúa, Rocío Santander, Javier Echeverrí, Marcos C Rezende

• The chemical compositions of the flower heads of H. berterii and of Chrysantemum coronarium L., visited by a varied entomofauna, were compared in the search of possible correlations that might explain why different plants are visited by the same insects. Though some similarities were observed in the flavonoid contents of both species, their overall composition was dramatically different, pointing to the existence of rather complex mechanisms of insect attraction by these species. Our results thus represent a cautionary remark to interpretations of such mechanisms based solely on the chemical composition of the volatile components of flowers in the field