Host Plant Volatiles and the Sexual Reproduction of the Potato Aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae.

Jessica Hurley,Hiroyuki Takemoto,Junji Takabayashi,Jeremy Mcneil

doi:10.3390/insects5040783

Jessica Hurley, Hiroyuki Takemoto + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/insects5040783

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Journal: Insects	Publication Date: Oct 24, 2014
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Kyoto University, Shizuoka University, Western University

Abstract

In late summer, heteroecious aphids, such as the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, move from their secondary summer host plants to primary host plants, where the sexual oviparae mate and lay diapausing eggs. We tested the hypothesis that volatiles of the primary host, Rosa rugosa, would attract the gynoparae, the parthenogenetic alate morph that produce oviparae, as well as the alate males foraging for suitable mates. In wind tunnel assays, both gynoparae and males oriented towards and reached rose cuttings significantly more often than other odour sources, including potato, a major secondary host. The response of males was as high to rose cuttings alone as to potato with a calling virgin oviparous female. These findings are discussed within the seasonal ecology of host alternating aphids.

Highlights

Host plant volatiles are one of the important cues used by females of many insect species to locate suitable oviposition sites [1,2]
The proportion of M. euphorbiae gynoparae that oriented to (F(3,12) = 4.97, p = 0.018) and reached (F(3,12) = 7.87, p = 0.004) the different sources differed significantly (Figure 1), with the highest responses being to the primary host plant
The proportion of M. euphorbiae males orienting to and reaching the source varied significantly depending on the odour source (Figure 3)

Summary

Introduction

Host plant volatiles are one of the important cues used by females of many insect species to locate suitable oviposition sites [1,2]. Plant volatiles may be important in the onset of sexual maturation and/or the emission of sex pheromones by virgin females [3,4]. Parthenogenetic females of heteroecious species produce gynoparae (alate parthenogenetic females) and alate males on the secondary summer hosts, and these morphs migrate to the primary overwintering hosts. Upon arrival on a suitable primary host, the gynoparae produce sexual apterous oviparae, who emit sex pheromones from scent plaques on their hind tibiae to attract sexually mature alate males [11,12,13,14], and once mated, produce eggs that remain in diapause throughout the winter [12]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion