Innate and learned prey-searching behavior in a generalist predator

View/ Open
Issue date
2016Suggested citation
Ardanuy Gabarra, Agnès;
Albajes Garcia, Ramon;
Turlings, Ted C.J.;
.
(2016)
.
Innate and learned prey-searching behavior in a generalist predator.
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2016, vol. 42, núm. 6, p. 497-507.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-016-0716-9.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Early colonization by Zyginidia scutellaris leafhoppers might be a key factor in the attraction and settling of generalist predators, such as Orius spp., in maize fields. In this paper, we aimed to determine whether our observations of early season increases in field populations of Orius spp. reflect a specific attraction to Z. scutellaris-induced maize volatiles, and how the responses of Orius predators to herbivore-induced volatiles (HIPVs) might be affected by previous experiences on plants infested by herbivorous prey. Therefore, we examined the innate and learned preferences of Orius majusculus toward volatiles from maize plants attacked by three potential herbivores with different feeding strategies: the leafhopper Z. scutellaris (mesophyll feeder), the lepidopteran Spodoptera littoralis (chewer), and another leafhopper Dalbulus maidis (phloem feeder). In addition, we examined the volatile profiles emitted by maize plants infested by the three herbivores. Our results show that predators exhibit a strong innate attraction to volatiles from maize plants infested with Z. scutellaris or S. littoralis. Previous predation experience in the presence of HIPVs influences the predator’s odor preferences. The innate preference for plants with cell or tissue damage may be explained by these plants releasing far more volatiles than plants infested by the phloem-sucking D. maidis. However, a predation experience on D. maidis-infested plants increased the preference for D. maidis-induced maize volatiles. After O. majusculus experienced L3-L4 larvae (too large to serve as prey) on S. littoralis-infested plants, they showed reduced attraction toward these plants and an increased attraction toward D. maidis-infested plants. When offered young larvae of S. littoralis, which are more suitable prey, preference toward HIPVs was similar to that of naive individuals. The HIPVs from plants infested by herbivores with distinctly different feeding strategies showed distinguishable quantitative differences in (Z)-3-hexenal, (E)-2-hexenal, and methyl salicylate. These compounds might serve as reliable indicators of prey presence and identity for the predator. Our results support the idea that feeding by Z. scutellaris results in the emission of maize’s HIPVs that initially recruit Orius spp. into maize fields.
Is part of
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2016, vol. 42, núm. 6, p. 497-507European research projects
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Epigeal aphidophagous predators and the role of alfalfa as a reservoir of aphid predators for arable crops
Pons i Domènech, Xavier; Núñez, Eva; Lumbierres i Bardají, Belén; Albajes Garcia, Ramon (Czech Academy of Sciences. Institute of Entomology of the Biology Centre, 2005)The relative occurrence and seasonal abundance of aphidophagous predators (Insecta and Arachnida) were determined in alfalfa fields at two locations in the northeast Iberian Peninsula, using D-Vac and sweep-net sampling ... -
Host selection by the autoparasitoid Encarsia pergandiella on primary (Bemisia tabaci) and secondary (Eretmocerus mundus) hosts
Zhang, Yi-Bo; Castañé Fernández, Cristina; Gabarra i Ambert, Rosa; Albajes Garcia, Ramon; Wan, Fang-Hao (Wiley, 2015)In autoparasitoids, females are generally primary endoparasitoids of Hemiptera, while males are hyperparasitoids developing in or on conspecific females or other primary parasitoids. Female-host acceptance can be influenced ... -
Leafhoppers as indicators for risk assessment of GM biofortified crops
Ardanuy Gabarra, Agnès; Albajes Garcia, Ramon (Intenational Organisation for Biological and Integrated Control, West Palaearctic Regional Sections, 2013)As striking advances have been made in the last years to produce a range of biofortified GM crops with an increased level of nutrients, new approaches for environmental risk assessment on non-target arthropods have to be ...