ABSTRACT
Recent studies show that Vetiver grass, (Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash), may have potential as a dead-end trap crop in an overall habitat management strategy for the spotted stem borer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Vetiver grass is highly preferred for oviposition, in spite of the fact that larval survival is extremely low on this grass. The oviposition behaviour of female Chilo partellus moths was investigated by determining the amount and size of egg batches allocated to maize and Vetiver plants and studying the effect of rearing conditions and oviposition experience on host plant selection. Two-choice preference tests were used to examine the effect of experience of maize (a suitable host plant) and Vetiver plants on the oviposition choice of C. partellus. For both field-collected and laboratory-reared moths, no significant differences were found in the preference distributions between the experienced groups. It is concluded that females do not learn, i.e. that they do not change their preference for Vetiver grass after having experienced oviposition on either maize or this grass, which supports the idea that trap cropping could have potential as a control method for C. partellus. Differences observed between field-collected and laboratory-reared moths in the amount and size of egg batches laid on maize and Vetiver grass indicate that data obtained from experiments with laboratory-reared insects should be treated with caution.
Subject(s)
Behavior, Animal/physiology , Learning/physiology , Moths/physiology , Oviposition/physiology , Animals , Chrysopogon/parasitology , Female , Zea mays/parasitologyABSTRACT
The origin of olfactory stimuli involved in the host microhabitat location inCotesia flavipes, a parasitoid of stem-borer larvae, was investigated in a Y-tube olfactometer. The response of femaleC. flavipes towards different components of the plant-host complex, consisting of a maize plant infested with two or more larvae of the stem borerChilo partellus, was tested in dualchoice tests. The concealed lifestyle of the stem-borer larvae did not limit the emission of volatiles attractive to a parasitoid. A major source of the attractive volatiles from the plant-host complex was the stem-borer-injured stem, including the frass produced by the feeding larvae. Moreover, the production of volatiles attractive to a parasitoid was not restricted to the infested stem part but occurs systemically throughout the plant. The uninfested leaves of a stem-borer-infested plant were found to emit volatiles that attract femaleC. flavipes. We further demonstrate that an exogenous elicitor of this systemic plant response is situated in the regurgitate of a stem-borer larva. When a minor amount of regurgitate is inoculated into the stem of an uninfested plant, the leaves of the treated plant emit volatiles that attract femaleC. flavipes.
