Abstract
The selection of oviposition sites by syrphids and other aphidophagous insects is influenced by the presence of con- and heterospecific competitors. Chemical cues play a role in this selection process, some of them being volatile semiochemicals. Yet, little is known about the identity and specificity of chemical signals that are involved in the searching behavior of these predators. In this study, we used olfactometer bioassays to explore the olfactory responses of gravid females and larvae of the syrphid Sphaerophoria rueppellii, focussing on volatiles from conspecific immature stages, as well as odors from immature stages of the competing coccinellid Adalia bipunctata. In addition, a multiple-choice oviposition experiment was conducted to study if females respond differently when they can also sense their competitors through visual or tactile cues. Results showed that volatiles from plants and aphids did not affect the behavior of second-instars, whereas adult females strongly preferred odors from aphid colonies without competitors. Odors from conspecific immature stages had a repellent effect on S. rueppellii adult females, whereas their choices were not affected by volatiles coming from immature heterospecific A. bipunctata. The results imply that the syrphid uses odors to avoid sites that are already occupied by conspecifics. They did not avoid the odor of the heterospecific competitor, although in close vicinity they were found to avoid laying eggs on leaves that had traces of the coccinellid. Apparently adult syrphids do not rely greatly on volatile semiochemicals to detect the coccinellid, but rather use other stimuli at close range (e. g., visual or non-volatile compounds) to avoid this competitor.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Gaylord Desurmont, Elvira de Lange, and Nathalie Veyrat for help with the setting of olfactometers and experiments. RAJ was supported by JAE Predoc CSIC scholarship (JAEPre_08_00457). The Authors acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education (AGL2005-01449/AGR project) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF 31003A-122132).
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Amorós-Jiménez, R., Robert, C.A.M., Marcos-García, M.Á. et al. A Differential Role of Volatiles from Conspecific and Heterospecific Competitors in the Selection of Oviposition Sites by the Aphidophagous Hoverfly Sphaerophoria rueppellii . J Chem Ecol 41, 493–500 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0583-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0583-9