Egg carrying attracts enemies in a cryptic coreid bug (Phyllomorpha laciniata)

In the golden egg bug (Phyllomorpha laciniata) eggs are laid mainly on the backs of conspecifics, and in many habitats eggs do not survive unless carried by bugs. Bugs are covered with small spines that may make them unpalatable. They are also cryptic, at least if not carrying eggs. We used domestic chicks as predators to examine if egg carrying influences susceptibility to avian predators. The special morphology of the bugs and/or possible chemical defense may make the bugs unattractive, as chicks that picked up bugs often rejected them. Eggs made bugs more attractive to chicks. The total number of attacks and the probability of being attacked at all increased significantly when bugs carried eggs. If mating with an egg-carrying bug, a female without eggs suffered as much as her egg-carrying partner when attacked. This study, together with previous results on ant predation, suggests that carrying eggs as well as mating with an egg-loaded bug are costly in terms of predation risk.