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EAG-Active Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles Modify Behavioral Responses and Host Attack by An Egg Parasitoid

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Abstract

Volatiles emitted by plants in response to feeding by Lygus species were tested in neurophysiological, behavioral, and parasitism trials with Anaphes iole, an egg parasitoid of Lygus. Electroantennogram analyses indicated that A. iole antennae responded to most herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) tested and that females were usually more responsive than males. Antennal responses to (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and methyl salicylate were among the strongest. Behavioral assays in a four-arm olfactometer demonstrated that response of female wasps to (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate varied greatly depending on preconditioning regime. Preconditioning wasps to complex host-plant odors led to stronger preference than did a single preconditioning stimulus, i.e., (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. In a horizontal wind tunnel, female wasps were attracted by methyl salicylate and α-farnesene. Parasitism of Lygus lineolaris eggs by A. iole in a cotton field was greater when the eggs were associated with (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate or α-farnesene than with controls. Overall, the results of this study show that A. iole can perceive a variety of plant volatiles released after its host damages plants, that the degree of associative learning in A. iole can be manipulated based on preconditioning regime, and that single synthetic HIPVs are attractive to A. iole and can be used to increase attack rates on host eggs. Therefore, it appears that HIPVs have potential for use in suppression of Lygus population densities.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to D. A. Streett, A. C. Cohen, B. Woods, G. McCain, and D. A. Nordlund (USDA-ARS BCMRRU, Mississippi State, MS, USA) for supplying A. iole and L. lineolaris egg packs. The authors thank A. A. Faulkner, C. Li, and V. Manrique for technical assistance and J. L. Blackmer, J. M. Patt, L. L. Stelinski, and anonymous reviewers for critical and helpful comments on the manuscript. This article reports the results of research only. Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation by the USDA for its use. The US Government has the right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA-ARS Exotic and Invasive Weeds Research Unit, 920 Valley Rd., Reno, NV, 89512, USA

    Livy Williams III

  2. Department of Entomology, Philip E. Marucci Blueberry and Cranberry Research Center, Rutgers University, 125a Lake Oswego, Chatsworth, NJ, 08019, USA

    Cesar Rodriguez-Saona

  3. Department of Plant, Soil, and Entomological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83843, USA

    Sandra C. Castle

  4. Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Su Zhu

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  1. Livy Williams III
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Correspondence to Livy Williams III.

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Williams, L., Rodriguez-Saona, C., Castle, S.C. et al. EAG-Active Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles Modify Behavioral Responses and Host Attack by An Egg Parasitoid. J Chem Ecol 34, 1190–1201 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9520-5

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