Volatile substances evoking orientation in the predatory flowerbugAnthocoris nemorum(Heteroptera: Anthocoridae)

Abstract

Chemical signals produced by leaves of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), goat willow (Salix caprea) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) attracted Anthocoris nemorum Linnaeus in a Y-tube plexiglass-walled olfactometer. A. nemorum reacted to odours of chloroform extracts of tomato foliage but not to water or methanol extracts. On the other hand, methanol or water extract of U. dioica attracted A. nemorum, but it was not attracted to chloroform soluble fractions of this plant. Adult A. nemorum could not distinguish between odour released by the aphids Myzus persicae (Sulzer) or Brevicoryne brassicae Linnaeus (Homoptera: Aphididae) and leaf odours emitted by Brussels sprout (Brassica oleracea). However, A. nemorum reacted to and distinguished between odours coming from either Tetranychus urticae Koch or T. cinnabarinus Boisduval (Acari: Tetranychidae) and from clean French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) leaves.

Olfactory Responses of Banana Weevil Predators to Volatiles from Banana Pseudostem Tissue and Synthetic Pheromone

“…The results of our olfactometer experiments demonstrate that the predators D. abdominale and P. megacephala respond to volatiles from fermented banana pseudostem tissue. Attraction to the food of its host was similarly reported for several natural enemy species, such as Leptopilina parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucoilidae) (Vet, 1985;Vet and Van Opzeeland, 1985), Anthocoris nemorum (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) (Dwumfour, 1992), Orius tristicolor (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) …”

“…In addition to the lack of response to the aggregation pheromone, generalist predators such as formicine ants have not been reported to use prey-derived chemicals as kairomones during foraging (Cosens and Toussaint, 1985). In contrast, several other predator species have been reported to use pheromones of their prey during prey searching and location (Dwumfour, 1992;Hedlund et al, 1996;Haberkern and Raffa, 2003;Steidle and van Loon, 2003).…”

“…There are a few studies on the application of infochemicals to manipulate the behavior of predators or parasitoids in the field (e.g., Drukker et al, 1995;Shimoda et al, 1997;Bernasconi et al, 2001;James, 2003;James and Price, 2004). However, data on the role of infochemicals in predator foraging have become available for several groups such as predatory mites (Sabelis and Dicke, 1985), pentatomids ( van Loon et al, 2000), anthocorids (Dwumfour, 1992;Drukker et al, 1995;James and Price, 2004), chrysopids ( Reddy et al, 2002;James and Price, 2004), and coccinellids ( Le Ru and Makosso, 2001;Ninkovic et al, 2001;Steidle and van Loon, 2002;James and Price, 2004). The predator Rhizophagus grandis (Gyll.)…”

“…Decomposing tissue is more attractive to these predators than fresh tissue (Koppenhoefer, 1993). Generalist predators are known to use infochemicals during prey location (Dwumfour, 1992;Scutareanu et al, 1997;Haberkern and Raffa, 2003;Steidle and van Loon, 2003;McGregor and Gillespie, 2004). Information on how volatiles from decomposing banana pseudostem tissue influence prey location by generalist predators is not available.…”

“…Information on the effect of this aggregation pheromone on the behavior of the weevil's predators has not been investigated. Several species of predators have been reported to use the aggregation pheromones of their hosts during host searching and location (Dwumfour, 1992;Vet and Papaj, 1992;Hedlund et al, 1996;Scutareanu et al, 1997;Haberkern and Raffa, 2003;Steidle and van Loon, 2003).…”