Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2007) 122, 247-251
Keiji Takasu, Glen C. Rains and W. Joe Lewis (2007)
Comparison of detection ability of learned odors between males and females in the larval parasitoid Microplitis croceipes
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 122 (3), 247-251
Abstract: Although female parasitic wasps are known to learn to associate odors with hosts and food, the ability of males to learn and detect odors has been neglected. We conducted laboratory experiments to compare the detection ability of learned odors between males and females in the larval parasitoid Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). We first conditioned males and females to associate sucrose water with methyl benzoate, 3-octanone, or cyclohexanone, and then observed their behavior toward various concentrations (40 ng l-1 - 4 mg l-1) of the trained odors. Conditioned male wasps responded as well as female wasps to various concentrations of the three odors. Response times by wasps to these three odors were not significantly different between sexes. For the three odors, response times of both sexes were longer at the intermediate concentrations (40-400 µg l-1) than the higher or lower concentrations. The present study suggests that M. croceipes males can learn and respond to the three chemicals tested as well as the females, and conditioned males are as sensitive to learned odors as conditioned females. By using their sensitive learning and odor-detection capabilities, M. croceipes males could search for food sources as efficiently as females under natural conditions.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Keiji Takasu
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation
general biology - morphology - evolution
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glabromicroplitis croceipes (parasitoid) |
