Voici les éléments 1 - 2 sur 2
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    Semiochemically mediated foraging behavior in beneficial parasitic insects
    (1993)
    Tumlinson, James H
    ;
    ;
    Lewis, W Joe
    Chemical cues enable female parasitic wasps to locate the eggs, larvae, or other life stages of the insects in or on which they place their eggs. These chemical signals, or semiochemicals, may be produced by the hosts and/or by the plants on which the hosts feed. The composition of the chemical signal often differs with different species of hosts or with different plants. New evidence suggests that the wasps exploit semiochemicals emitted by plants in response to insect herbivore feeding. The wasps learn to respond to the different blends of chemicals that indicate the location of their hosts and they can be trained to respond to a specific odor blend. Thus, it may be possible to increase their effectiveness for biological control by conditioning them, prior to their release, to search for a target pest in a particular crop.
  • Publication
    Métadonnées seulement
    The role of plant volatiles in host location by the specialist parasitoid Microplitis croceipes Cresson (Braconidae: Hymenoptera)
    (1993)
    McCall, Philip J
    ;
    ;
    Lewis, W Joe
    ;
    Tumlinson, James H
    A study was conducted to determine the primary source of volatile cues within the plant-host complex used by host-seeking free-flying female Microplitis croceipes Cresson in flight tunnel bioassays. In single-source and two-choice tests, using wasps given an oviposition experience on either cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) or cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seedlings damaged by com earworm (CEW; Helicoverpa zea Boddie), the damaged seedlings were significantly more attractive than the CEW frass, which was in turn more attractive than the larvae themselves. In a series of two-choice wind-tunnel tests, the discriminatory ability of the wasps was examined, following various oviposition experiences. Significantly more wasps flew to plants with ''old '' damage than to plants with ''fresh '' damage, regardless of whether they had experience on fresh or old damage. In a comparison of plant species, wasps with only one experience on either host-damaged cotton or host-damaged cowpea were unable to distinguish between them, and showed no preference for either plant, whereas wasps with multiple experiences on a particular plant preferentially flew to that plant in the choice test. In comparing hosts with nonhosts, wasps successfully learned to distinguish CEW from beet armyworm (BAW, Spodoptera exigua) on cotton but were unable to distinguish CEW from either BAW or cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni) on cowpea. The results show the important role played by plant volatiles in the location of hosts by M. croceipes and indicate the wasps' limitations in discriminating criminating among the various odors. The ecological advantages and disadvantages of this behavior are discussed.