Use of chemical variation and predation as plant defenses byEncelia farinosa against a specialist herbivore

Larvae of the monophagous herbivore,Trirhabda geminata, selectively eat particular plants and plant parts of its natural host,Encelia farinosa. Measurements of leaf damage and larval positions on branches through time support this observation. Time-lapse movie photography revealed that larvae are sufficiently mobile to search most of a plant in a 48-hr period and that aggregations were the result of larval activity and not directly the result of oviposition. Experiments withT. geminata larvae on artificial diets containing a range of natural concentrations of chemical extracts fromE. farinosa leaves showed that the larvae grew significantly slower and had a lower overall survivorship at the high concentration. Combining the results of all choice tests, larvae appeared unable to distinguish between high- and low-concentration agar diets. Considered individually, larval preferences for natural production concentrations changed as the season progressed. Early-season larvae preferred low-concentration leaves, while late-season larvae preferred high-concentrations. Measurements of chemical and nitrogen content of leaves selected by larvae in the field confirmed this pattern. Percent parasitism in field-collected larvae increased with season as the larval population decreased. This combination of slowed growth and increasing parasitism and predation is a putative defense strategy ofEncelia farinosa to prevent adaptation by a specialist herbivore to the total range of compounds elaborated.     

Host selection byBlepharipa pratensis (Meigen), a tachinid parasite of the gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar L.

The host selection process ofBlepharipa pratensis (Meigen), a tachinid parasite of the gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar L., was investigated. Once in the host's habitat, and following contact with a recently damaged leaf edge (cut, torn, eaten), the fly orients perpendicular to the edge and moves back and forth with the front tarsi grasping the damaged edge. Oviposturing (oviposition intention) may occur. Leaf exudates appear to arrest the fly on the leaf and increase tarsal examination (searching). If an edge of a gypsy moth-eaten leaf is contacted, oviposition usually occurs. Significantly more eggs are laid when host-browsed foliage is encountered, compared to mechanically cut or damaged foliage, indicating response to a cue left by the host during feeding. The number of host-damaged leaf clusters in an area significantly enhances oviposition there; in field-cage tests, significantly more eggs (7911) were laid in simulated-crown areas with all clusters browsed, compared to the adjacent areas containing 1/2 browsed (4200 eggs) and undamaged clusters (2209 eggs). A host selection sequence is suggested and discussed.     

Response of parasitoidEucelatoria bryani to selected plant material in an olfactometer

The response of the parasitoidEucelatoria bryani Sabrosky to fresh plant material and several plant extracts was examined in an olfactometer. The plants tested can serve as a food source for hosts (Heliothis spp.) of the parasitoid. Females responded positively to 13 of the 19 fresh plant tissues tested, and all of the extracts tested. Males responded to only two of the fresh plant tissues and to none of the extracts. The significance of plant variety, morphology, and phenology on the host habitat-selection behavior of this parasitoid is discussed.     

Testing the “new associations” biological control concept with a tachinid parasitoid (Euclytia flava)

Males of the spined soldier bug,Podisus maculiventris (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), produce an attractant pheromone that is exploited as a host-finding kairomone by a complex of parasitic species. The capability to catch hundreds of a generalist tachinid fly parasitoid,Euclytia flava, alive in traps baited with the pheromone ofP. maculiventris provided an opportunity to test the premise of the new associations biological control concept. The hypothesis that host species newly associated with a parasitoid are maladapted relative to native-native associations was tested by givingE. flava females a choice between native and exotic stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). WildE. flava females preferred to oviposit on exotic pentatomid species rather than indigenous, known host species, both in field traps baited with the pheromone of a native host and in the laboratory. Data presented here demonstrate that an invader may be vulnerable to native parasitoids in one aspect of the parasitism process (acceptance), yet go unrecognized as a potential host.     

Influence of life history differences of two tachinid parasitoids ofHelicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on their interactions with glandular trichome/methyl ketone-based insect resistance in tomato

The effects of glandular trichome/methyl ketone (2-tridecanone and 2-undecanone) -based insect resistance in the wild tomato,Lycopersicon hirsutum f.glabratum C.H. Mull, accession PI 134417, onArchytas marmoratus (Townsend) andEucelatoria bryani (Sabrosky) (Diptera: Tachinidae), both parasitoids ofHelicoverpa (=Heliothis)zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), were investigated in the laboratory.A. marmoratus deposits larvae (planidia) on the foliage of its host's food plant; planidia attach to passing hosts, penetrate the cuticle, and develop in the host pupae.E. bryani larviposits directly into its host; its larvae develop in the host larva.A. marmoratus planidia are killed by glandular trichomes of PI 134417 and also by trichomes of hybrid lines with no methyl ketones. The methyl ketones are toxic to planidia, but at least part of the effect is due to other factors, possibly physical entanglement. Both species can be affected indirectly by methyl ketones in the diet of the host. 2-Undecanone reduces the percentage ofA. marmoratus larvae that reach pupation. This effect is evidently due to premature death and desiccation of the host pupa caused by 2-undecanone. 2-Tridecanone in host diets had no effect onA. marmoratus. InE. bryani, 2-tridecanone in the diet of the host reduced the number of parasitoids yielded by each parasitized host, although not the overall percentage of hosts parasitized. 2-Undecanone in the diet of the host had no effect onE. bryani.We thank M. Woodall for typing; V.B. Covington, D. Bumgarner, and B. O'Brien for technical assistance; L.A. Jones for assistance with gas chromatography; P.H. Adler for supplyingE. bryani puparia to initiate colony; and Drs. F. Gould, G.C. Rock, and M. Barbercheck for comments.     

Behavioral correlates for minor volatile compounds from stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Many terrestrial Heteroptera have small, but functional, dorsal abdominal glands as adults. The chemistry, and associated intra- and inter-specific behavior, for dorsal abdominal gland secretions from 10 species representing four genera of Pentatomidae was investigated. Eighteen volatile compounds were identified in species-specific blends from the dorsal abdominal gland secretions ofEuschistus, Acrosternum, andEurydema adults, including aliphatic, aromatic, and terpenoid constituents. Evidence from bioassays is presented that parasitic Tachinidae (Diptera) and Scelionidae (Hymenoptera) use these secretions as kairomones. A field experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that minor volatiles increase the specificity of the main pheromone component from NearcticEuschistus species, methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate. However, significantly fewer individuals ofE. tristigmus were captured in traps baited with the complete blend for this species than in traps baited with methyl (2E,4Z)-decadienoate alone. Thus, at the concentrations tested, these kinds of dorsal abdominal gland secretions may be epideictic, promoting spacing in the natural habitat.     

Contact stimulants fromHeliothis virescens that influence the behavior of females of the tachinid,Eucelatoria bryani

Factors acting at contact or close range affected the behavior associated with host seeking of females, but not of males, of the tachinid,Eucelatoria bryani Sabrosky. Females were arrested by components of larvae ofHeliothis virescens (F.) and by a dichloromethane extract of okra leaves. A hexane extract ofH. virescens frass and a chloroform-methanol extract ofH. virescens larvae were both active. In addition to chemicals, shape and size were involved because females were arrested by small inert objects the size ofH. virescens larvae and frass.In cooperation with the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the USDA.