Influence of Dietary Experience on the Induction of Preference of Adult Moths and Larvae for a New Olfactory Cue (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Entomology
In Lepidoptera, larval dietary experience of volatile cues can induce adult preference for these cues. However, such induction may require several generations, depending in part on the degree of specialization of the insects. In a previous study, using species of noctuid stem borers with different diet breadths, namely the polyphagous Sesamia nonagrioides, the oligophagous Busseola fusca and monophagous Busseola nairobica, it was shown that in S. nonagrioides, one generation was enough to induce a preference for vanillin in the resulting gravid females, whereas even two generations failed to induce a response in adults of Busseola spp. In this study, we checked whether a higher number of generations of exposure to a vanillin-enriched medium could induce a signifi cant olfactory preference for this medium in the species B. fusca and B. nairobica, which have narrower host-plant utilization ranges than S. nonagrioides. Larvae were reared to the adult stage on an artifi cial diet enriched with vanillin for periods of from 2 to 7 or 8 generations, followed by two-choice tests on gravid females using a Y-tube olfactometer. The results showed different responses according to the species: for the oligophagous B. fusca, there was no signifi cant effect of the conditioning, while a signifi cant preference for the odours emitted by this new vanillin-enriched diet was recorded for the polyphagous S. nonagrioides and monophagous B. nairobica, but after different numbers of generations. In conclusion, different diet breadths seem to be associated with different levels of plasticity in the odour preference of adults. The implication of this result for insects' adaptability in a changing landscape is discussed.
Ecology letters, 2015
In insects, like in other animals, experience-based modulation of preference, a form of phenotypic plasticity, is common in heterogeneous environments. However, the role of multiple fitness-relevant experiences on insect preference remains largely unexplored. For the multivoltine polyphagous moth Spodoptera littoralis we investigated effects of larval and adult experiences on subsequent reproductive behaviours. We demonstrate, for the first time in male and female insects, that mating experience on a plant modulates plant preference in subsequent reproductive behaviours, whereas exposure to the plant alone or plant together with sex pheromone does not affect this preference. When including larval feeding experiences, we found that both larval rearing and adult mating experiences modulate host plant preference. These findings represent the first evidence that host plant preferences in polyphagous insects are determined by a combination of innate preferences modulated by sensory feedb...
Journal of Chemical Ecology - J CHEM ECOL, 1999
In a behavioral dual-choice test the orientational response of third-instar larvae of Spodoptera littoralis to a certain odor could be increased, following a former experience of the odor. The odorants used were either the odor of a previously eaten host plant or a synthetic plant odor presented in conjunction with food. Inexperienced third-instar larvae were either neutral or demonstrated a weak attraction to the odors, whereas experienced larvae were highly attracted. Furthermore it was demonstrated that the larvae did not generalize between the odor previously experienced and a novel odor.
Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 2009
Many herbivorous insects induce preferences for host plants. Recent work in Manduca sexta indicates that induced preferences are mediated by a "tuning" of the peripheral taste system to chemicals within host plant foliage. We tested this hypothesis by rearing caterpillars on artiWcial diet or potato foliage, and then examining olfactory-and taste-mediated responses to potato foliage extract. First, we conWrmed earlier reports that consumption of potato foliage tunes the peripheral taste system by reducing responsiveness to glucose and increasing responsiveness to foliage extract. Second, we oVered caterpillars a choice between disks treated with foliage extract (experimental) or solvent alone (control). The foliage-reared caterpillars approached and consumed the experimental disks disproportionately, whereas the diet-reared caterpillars approached and consumed both disks indiscriminately. This indicated that induced preferences involve olfaction and taste. Third, we ran choice tests with foliage-reared caterpillars deprived of either olfactory or gustatory input. Caterpillars lacking olfactory input approached both disks indiscriminately, but fed selectively on experimental disks. In contrast, caterpillars lacking gustatory input approached experimental disks selectively, but fed indiscriminately on both types of disk. We conclude that even though olfaction helps caterpillars locate potato foliage, it is the "tuned" gustatory response that ultimately mediates the induced preference.
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2018
Volatile chemicals produced by plants mediate host location, mate-finding and oviposition behavior in insects. State-dependent response to plant cues allows for timing of foraging, mating and oviposition on ephemeral host plants or plant parts. Caloptilia fraxinella is a herbivorous specialist on the foliage of ash trees (Fraxinus). Adults are long-lived and undergo a nine-month reproductive diapause over the fall and winter. Mating and oviposition occur in the spring when volatile chemicals released by ash leaves mediate host location. This study tested the plasticity of olfactory response of C. fraxinella to host plant volatiles using both electroantennogram and behavioral bioassays. The effect of moth physiological state on olfactory response was tested on male and female moths in different nutritional, mating, and diapause states. Antennal responses to host plant volatiles were plastic and depended on moth physiological state, and were highest when moths were reproductively active and would be seeking oviposition hosts. Moth sex and nutritional status also impacted antennal response to host plant volatiles. Oriented flight of females to ash seedlings varied with physiological state and nutritional status, with fed, reproductively active females having the highest response. Physiological state impacted oriented flight of males to female-produced sex pheromone signals whether or not a host plant was present, and there was no increase in behavioral response to sex pheromone in the presence of an ash host.
Evolution, 2019
Many phytophagous insects have strong preferences for their host plants, which they recognize via odors, making it unclear how novel host preferences develop in the course of insect diversification. Insects may learn to prefer new host plants via exposure to their odors and pass this learned preference to their offspring. We tested this hypothesis by This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. 2 examining larval odor preferences before and after feeding them with leaves coated with control and novel odors and by examining odor preferences again in their offspring. Larvae of the parental generation developed a preference for two of these odors over their development. These odor preferences were also transmitted to the next generation. Offspring of butterflies fed on these new odors chose these odors more often than offspring of butterflies fed on control leaves. In addition, offspring of butterflies fed on banana odors had a significant naïve preference for the banana odors in contrast to the naïve preference for control leaves shown by individuals of the parental generation. Thus, butterflies can learn to prefer novel host plant odors via exposure to them during larval development and transmit these learned preferences to their offspring. This ability potentially facilitates shifts in host plant use over the course of insect diversification.
Olfactory learning of plant genotypes by a polyphagous insect predator
Oecologia, 2011
Olfactory learning may allow insects to forage optimally by more efficiently finding and using favourable food sources. Although olfactory learning has been shown in bees, insect herbivores and parasitoids, there are fewer examples from polyphagous predators. In this study, olfactory learning by a predatory coccinellid beetle is reported for the first time. In laboratory trials, adults of the aphidophagous ladybird Coccinella septempunctata did not prefer the odour of one aphid-infested barley cultivar over another. However, after feeding on aphids for 24 h on a cultivar, they preferred the odour of that particular cultivar. The mechanism appeared to be associative learning rather than sensitisation. Although inexperienced ladybirds preferred the odour of an aphid-infested barley cultivar over uninfested plants of the same cultivar, after feeding experience on a different cultivar this preference disappeared. This may indicate the acquisition and replacement of olfactory templates. The odour blends of the different aphid-infested barley cultivars varied qualitatively and quantitatively, providing a potential basis for olfactory discrimination by the ladybird. The results show that predatory coccinellids can learn to associate the odour of aphid-infested plants with the presence of prey, and that this olfactory learning ability is sensitive enough to discriminate variability between different genotypes of the same plant.