Abstract
Herbivory insects can discriminate the quality of a host plant for food or oviposition, by detecting the volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) released by the plant, however, damaged plants may release a different VOC’s profile modifying the insects’ response. We tested if the VOC’s profile from damaged plants affected the response of Copitarsia decolora as these moths oviposit preferably around undamaged host plants. We assessed the response in wind tunnel conditions of C.decolora mated females to volatiles collected by dynamic headspace from 30–40 d old cabbage undamaged plants and mechanical and larval damaged plants. Headspace volatile compounds from undamaged cabbage plants were more attractive to mated females than those from larval and mechanical damaged cabbage plants. Moths stimulated with headspace volatiles from undamaged plants performed more complete flight and ovipositor displays than those moths stimulated with headspace volatiles from damaged cabbage plants. A mixture of synthetic compounds identified from undamaged cabbages elicited similar antennal and wind tunnel responses in mated females as headspace volatiles from undamaged cabbage plants. C. decolora females may discriminate between damaged and undamaged host plants by detecting their VOC’s profiles as a strategy to avoid unsuitable plants for their offspring increasing their fitness.
Highlights
Female moths recognize their host plants by specific ratios/concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a wide variety of plants[1,2]
In the moth Copitarsia decolora Guenée, an important pest of cruciferous plants, cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata Linnaeus), which is widely distributed in America and quarantined for the United States[18], females deposited significantly more eggs around undamaged cabbage plants than on the undamaged plant[19], but
This study reports the effect of headspace volatiles from damaged and undamaged cabbage plants on the attraction and electrophysiological responses of C. decolora females, and the chemical compounds attractive to mated females
Summary
Female moths recognize their host plants by specific ratios/concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a wide variety of plants[1,2]. Plants regulate their VOCs emission rate according to various factors during the day and night[3,4]. Most studies on volatiles of host plants have focused on the VOCs emitted by plants damaged by herbivorous insects and their effect on conspecifics and the attraction of predators and parasitoids as an indirect defense mechanism[11,12]. This study reports the effect of headspace volatiles from damaged and undamaged cabbage plants on the attraction and electrophysiological responses of C. decolora females, and the chemical compounds attractive to mated females
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