Journal of Insect Behavior (2007) 20, 53-65

Nina E. Fatouros, Gabriella Bukovinszkine'Kiss, Marcel Dicke and Monika Hilker (2007)
The response specificity of Trichogramma egg parasitoids towards infochemicals during host location
Journal of Insect Behavior 20 (1), 53-65
Abstract: Parasitoids are confronted with many different infochemicals of their hosts and food plants during host selection. Here, we investigated the effect of kairomones from the adult host Pieris brassicae and of cues present on Brussels sprout plants infested by P. brassicae eggs on the behavioral response of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma evanescens. Additionally, we tested whether the parasitoid's acceptance of P. brassicae eggs changes with different host ages. The wasps did not discriminate between olfactory cues from mated and virgin females or between mated females and males of P. brassicae. T. evanescens randomly climbed on the butterflies, showing a phoretic behavior without any preference for a certain sex. The parasitoid was arrested on leaf parts next to 1-day-old host egg masses. This arrestment might be due to cues deposited during oviposition. The wasps parasitized host eggs up to 3 days old equally well. Our results were compared with former studies on responses by T .brassicae showing that T. evanescens makes less use of infochemicals from P. brassicae than T. brassicae.
(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): Monika Hilker, Marcel Dicke

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pieris brassicae	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)
Trichogramma evanescens (parasitoid)	Pieris brassicae	Cabbage (Brassica oleracea)