Social signals mediate oviposition site selection in Drosophila suzukii

Abstract

The information that female insects perceive and use during oviposition site selection is complex and varies by species and ecological niche. Even in relatively unexploited niches, females interact directly and indirectly with conspecifics at oviposition sites. These interactions can take the form of host marking and re-assessment of prior oviposition sites during the decision-making process. Considerable research has focused on the niche breadth and host preference of the polyphagous invasive pest Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), but little information exists on how conspecific signals modulate oviposition behavior. We investigated three layers of social information that female D. suzukii may use in oviposition site selection—(1) pre-existing egg density, (2) pre-existing larval occupation, and (3) host marking by adults. We found that the presence of larvae and host marking, but not egg density, influenced oviposition behavior and that the two factors interacted over time. Adult marking appeared to deter oviposition only in the presence of an unmarked substrate. These results are the first behavioral evidence for a host marking pheromone in a species of Drosophila. These findings may also help elucidate D. suzukii infestation and preference patterns within crop fields and natural areas.

The Evolutionary Relevance of Social Learning and Transmission in Non-Social Arthropods with a Focus on Oviposition-Related Behaviors

“…Perception of social cues, social learning and transmission are the stepping stones towards social inheritance. While perception of social cues is now well known to induce behavioral changes in multiple arthropods (e.g., [35,[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93]), we need to increase our understanding of social learning in non-social arthropods and determine its prevalence, both in the laboratory and in the field. Due to its inherent link to fitness, oviposition site selection offers unparalleled opportunities to study social learning and transmission, also in systems other than Drosophila.…”

“…The first step to show evidence of social learning is that a behavior is modified in response to the perception of a social cue (step 1 in Figure 1). As a large number of studies document the existence of step 1 in various non-social arthropods, we did not include these studies in Table 1 (e.g., [35,[83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93]). Historically, most studies on ovipositionrelated behaviors have focused on parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) as model systems, where oviposition takes place in or on the body of another arthropod [94].…”

Evaluation of Additional Drosophila suzukii Male-Only Strains Generated Through Remobilization of an FL19 Transgene

“…The original wild-type colony was established from infested fruit collected from a field in North Carolina in 2011 ( Burrack et al, 2013 ) and the initial FL19 strain was previously made by piggyBac -mediated germline transformation of this wild type strain ( Li et al, 2021 ). The wild type colony was periodically genetically augmented with flies collected in North Carolina ( Elsensohn et al, 2021 ). The newly refreshed and the original 2011wild type colonies are maintained separately by our lab.…”

The evolutionary relevance of social learning and transmission of behaviors in non-social arthropods

“…For example, adult females learn to interpret and use a wide variety of cues from conspecifics at different life stages when choosing an oviposition site. Visual cues, such as the presence of conspecific eggs and/or larvae on oviposition substrates [70,71], interactions with more experienced female demonstrators [71], as well olfactory and even auditory cues produced by conspecifics [73,74] have been shown to positively influence the decision of females for oviposition. This implies that the benefits of conspecific attraction in oviposition site selection may outweigh the costs of competition in the wild [74,75].…”

“…Visual cues, such as the presence of conspecific eggs and/or larvae on oviposition substrates [70,71], interactions with more experienced female demonstrators [71], as well olfactory and even auditory cues produced by conspecifics [73,74] have been shown to positively influence the decision of females for oviposition. This implies that the benefits of conspecific attraction in oviposition site selection may outweigh the costs of competition in the wild [74,75]. In the context of research on social learning in Drosophila, the large knowledge-base on cues associated with oviposition site selection, as well as the documented evidence for social learning (Table 1), make it an excellent model for testing whether social learning of oviposition sites can be inherited.…”