Journal of Chemical Ecology (1996) 22, 541-558

Valérie Finidori-Logli, Anne-Geneviève Bagnères and Jean-Luc Clément (1996)
Role of plant volatiles in the search for a host by parasitoid Diglyphus isaea (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)
Journal of Chemical Ecology 22 (3), 541-558
Abstract: Diglyphus isaea Walker is a larval ectoparasitoid used in biological pest control against the American serpentine leaf miner Liriomyza trifolii Burgess. We studied the parasitoid's host searching behavior, using olfactometric methods. Our data show that the parasitoids locate host larvae (a leafmining dipteran) on the basis of volatile signals released by the plant-host complex. Female D. isaea are strongly attracted to the odors arising from damaged bean plants, whereas they show practically no response to intact plants. The results of our chemical analyses showed that about 15 components were present, two of which, cis-3-hexen-1-ol and 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, were present in significantly larger quantities in the leaf extracts from mined or damaged bean plants than in those from healthy plants. The damage inflicted by the host larvae on these plants triggers the release of larger amounts of these substances, which probably lead the parasites to their hosts. The compounds thus act as synomones.
(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): Anne-Geneviève Bagnères

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Liriomyza trifolii
Diglyphus isaea (parasitoid)	Liriomyza trifolii