The Influence of Aphid-Induced Plant Volatiles on Ladybird Beetle Searching Behavior (original) (raw)
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Insect Science, 2019
The ladybird beetle Coccinella septempunctata (L.) is an important biocontrol agent of pests such as various aphid species. Despite being one of the most studied coccinellid species, many aspects of its foraging behavior are still not completely understood. This study focuses on the diel foraging behavior of C. septempunctata, investigating their olfactory orientation toward aphid-infested plants, walking activity on plants and on the soil, and feeding rates. In the scotophase the ladybird beetles were significantly more attracted to the odor of aphid-infested plants, on which they also showed considerably higher walking activity then on uninfested controls. Females were more prone to utilize olfactory cues when searching for prey and fed at higher rates than males; this shows that they are better adapted to nocturnal activity, as they require higher food intake. Coccinella septempunctata have the same feeding rate during the scotophase as in the photophase. Our study shows that C. septempunctata has the potential to forage in the scotophase if prey is abundant. The results support the hypothesis that volatiles of aphid-infested plants can attract or arrest foraging adult ladybird beetles, even in the darkness, which makes a considerable contribution to efficient prey search and enhances feeding capacity.
Phytoparasitica, 2009
The spider mites Tetranychus urticae Koch and Panonychus ulmi (Koch) (Tetranychidae) cause severe economic losses to vegetable farms and deciduous fruit orchards in Turkey. One of their predators, the ladybird beetle Stethorus gilvifrons (Muls.) (Col., Coccinellidae), aggregates on miteinfested patches of plants. The present study assessed whether there is a role for herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) and/or odors emitted directly from these two mite species in the aggregative response of ladybird beetles. The olfactory responses of the predator females to volatiles from T. urticae-and/or P. ulmi-infested sweet pepper (four cultivars, viz. 'Demre', 'Yalova Carliston', 'Kandil Dolma' and 'Yag Biberi'), kidney bean (cv. 'Barbunya') and apple (M9 rootstock) were investigated using a two-choice olfactometer. Our results showed that HIPVs emitted from both T. urticae-and P. ulmi-infested plants significantly attracted S. gilvifrons adults for all plants except the sweet pepper cv. Yag Biberi. In addition, it was found that volatiles from apple plants infested by T. urticae and, especially, P. ulmi are more attractive for S. gilvifrons females than those emitted by other infested plants. The results also suggest that the odors of T. urticae adults and their products might influence the attraction of S. gilvifrons females.
Frontiers in Crop Improvement, 2021
Five synthetic herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV's) and their mixtures were tested for their ability to attract two coccinellid species viz. Coccinella septempunctata Linn. and Coccinella transversalis Fab. in a Y-tube olfactometer under laboratory conditions. The both sexes of C. septempunctata Linn. were attracted to Methyl salicylate (MeSA) at (5 ppm and 10 ppm) and Cis-3-hexenyl acetate (5 ppm). Whereas, females of C. septempunctata Linn. also attracted to Methyl salicylate (1 ppm), Cis-hexanol (5 ppm) and b-caryophyllene (5 ppm). On the contrary, male and female of C. transversalis Fab. were attracted to Methyl salicylate at 10 ppm and 5 ppm respectively. Similarly, Cis-hexanol at 10 ppm concentration also attracted both sexes of C. transversalis Fab. Among the HIPV's mixtures, significantly higher responses of both sexes of C. septempunctata Linn. and C. transversalis Fab. were recorded from Methyl salicylate (MeSA) + b-caryophyllene + Cis-hexanol (1:1:1) at almost all concentrations tested (viz., 1, 5, 10 and 15 ppm). Whereas, combination of b-caryophyllene + Cis-hexanol (1:1) failed to attract any sex of both species except 10 ppm concentration, that attracted male of C. septempunctata Linn. Results of present study clearly indicated that the mixture of herbivore-induced plant volatiles gave higher responses of C. transversalis Fab. and C. septempunctata Linn. adults than compounds tested singly. This is the first report of C. transversalis Fab. attraction to Methyl salicylate in a Y-tube olfactometer.
Oikos, 2003
In the present study the main aim was to investigate the odour mechanisms affecting habitat preferences of Coccinella septempunctata (L.). In a field study, the frequency of adult C. septempunctata was higher in barley plots containing high densities of the common weeds Cirsium ar6ense (L.) Scop. and Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski. than in control plots with only barley. In olfactometer experiments in the laboratory, adult C. septempunctata showed a significantly more positive response to mixed odours of barley and each of the two weeds than to barley alone. Ladybirds responded differently to barley plants that were previously exposed to volatiles from the two weeds. The E. repens-exposed barley plant lost its attractivity while the C. ar6ense-exposed barley plants maintained attractivity. As no aphids or pollen resources were present in the plots during the experiment, the results show that C. septempunctata responds to the botanical characteristics of the habitat even if no food resources are available. These results strongly suggest that olfactory cues and plant-plant communication from diversified plant stands can be important mechanisms in predator attraction to sites with a complex botanical diversity.
Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control, 2021
Background Plants after infestation emit specific volatiles, which can influence foraging behavior of insect predators of herbivores. This work aimed to evaluate the responses of the predatory species, Coccinella undecimpunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), adults to volatiles emitted from its cowpea aphid prey, Aphis craccivora (Koch.), and from Vicia faba plant to improve the efficiency of searching for its prey. An olfactometer bioassay was used for this investigation. Results The results revealed that both male and female of C. undecimpunctata significantly used olfactory cues from infested plant + aphids, but the mated females exhibited a complete response (47.50%). The mated male was attracted to aphids (30.0%) more than other tested predatory types, indicating the capacity to exploit volatiles induced by aphids. Conclusions The results supported that C. undecimpunctata adult uses plant volatiles induced by A. craccivora infestation, which might act as reliable indicators t...
Insects, 2022
Microbes have the potential to affect multitrophic plant–insect–predator interactions. We examined whether cotton plants treated with potentially beneficial fungi affect interactions between cotton aphids Aphis gossypii and predatory lady beetles Hippodamia convergens. We used Y-tube olfactometer assays to test lady beetle behavioral responses to stimuli emitted by aphid-infested and non-infested cotton plants grown from seeds treated with either Phialemonium inflatum (TAMU490) or Chaetomium globosum (TAMU520) versus untreated control plants. We tested a total of 960 lady beetles (480 males and 480 females) that had been deprived of food for approximately 24 h. In the absence of any fungal treatments, males preferred stimuli from aphid-infested plants, and females spent more time associated with stimuli from aphid-infested versus non-infested plants. When fungal treatments were added, we observed that lady beetles preferred non-aphid-infested P. inflatum plants, and males responded ...
Attraction of two lacewing species to volatiles produced by host plants and aphid prey
Naturwissenschaften, 2005
It is well documented that host-related odors enable many species of parasitoids and predatory insects to locate their prey and prey habitats. This study reports the first characterization of prey and prey host odor reception in two species of lacewings, Chrysoperla carnea (Say) and Chrysopa oculata L. 2-Phenylethanol, one of the volatiles emitted from their prey's host plants (alfalfa and corn) evoked a significant EAG response from antennae of C. carnea. Traps baited with this compound attracted high numbers of adult C. carnea, which were predominantly females. One of the sex pheromone components (1R,4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactol of an aphid species, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) attracted only C. oculata adults. Single sensillum recordings showed that the olfactory neurons of C. carnea responded to both 2-phenylethanol and aphid sex pheromone components, but those of C. oculata only responded to the latter.