Pest Management Science (2020) 76, 1920-1928

Min Li, Yixin Yang, Yonghong Yao, Weifang Xiang, Jiayi Han, Yonghui Wang, Penghua Bai, Jing Wang, Gengping Zhu, Liang Man, Fan Zhang and Lina Pan (2020)
Isolation and identification of attractants from the pupae of three lepidopteran species for the parasitoid Chouioia cunea Yang
Pest Management Science 76 (5), 1920-1928
Abstract:
BACKGROUND
Chouioia cunea Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a parasitic wasp and natural enemy of several lepidopteran pests during their pupal stage. The volatiles from pupae of three hosts, Hyphantria cunea (Arctiidae), Antheraea pernyi (Saturniidae) and Lymantria dispar (Erebidae), were analyzed and compared to elucidate the chemical cues used by C. cunea to locate its hosts.
RESULTS
The attraction of C. cunea to H. cunea pupae has no obvious association with the types of plant leaves consumed by H. cunea before pupation. C. cunea exhibited the strongest attraction to the pupae of H. cunea, followed by those of A. pernyi and L. dispar based on behavioral experiments. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and GC-electroantennography (GC-EAD) analyses showed that these three host pupae consisted of essentially the same active volatile components but at different relative amounts. Active components derived from these pupae by GC-EAD were alkanes from C12 to C27, and C. cunea showed different levels of attraction to different single compounds.
CONCLUSION
Host location by C. cunea primarily depends on common compounds emanating from the pupae of several host species. The relative amount of each component varies across host species, guiding host preferences by C. cunea. Optimal blends of several components were identified. Understanding the chemical cues used by C. cunea to locate its host could increase the possibility of developing attractants for parasitic wasps and subsequently increasing the parasitism rate of C. cunea on various hosts.
(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): Gengping Zhu

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.
	Lymantria dispar
	Hyphantria cunea
Chouioia cunea (parasitoid)	Hyphantria cunea