Abstract
Experience of insect herbivores and their natural enemies in the natal habitat is considered to affect their likelihood of accepting a similar habitat or plant/host during dispersal. Growing phenology of food plants and the number of generations in the insects further determines lability of insect behavioural responses at eclosion. We studied the effect of rearing history on oviposition preference in a multivoltine herbivore (Pieris brassicae), and foraging behaviour in the endoparasitoid wasp (Cotesia glomerata) a specialist enemy of P. brassicae. Different generations of the insects are obligatorily associated with different plants in the Brassicaceae, e.g., Brassica rapa, Brassica nigra and Sinapis arvensis, exhibiting different seasonal phenologies in The Netherlands. Food plant preference of adults was examined when the insects had been reared on each of the three plant species for one generation. Rearing history only marginally affected oviposition preference of P. brassicae butterflies, but they never preferred the plant on which they had been reared. C. glomerata had a clear preference for host-infested B. rapa plants, irrespective of rearing history. Higher levels of the glucosinolate breakdown product 3-butenyl isothiocyanate in the headspace of B. rapa plants could explain enhanced attractiveness. Our results reveal the potential importance of flexible plant choice for female multivoltine insects in nature.
Highlights
Herbivorous insects have to locate their host food plants often embedded in patches that may be species-rich and structurally and chemically complex [1,2]
Volatiles that are released by plants in response to herbivore feeding (so-called herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs)) have been extensively studied in relation to parasitoid foraging behaviour over the past 25 years [7,9,10,11,12,13]
We investigate the effect of rearing history on oviposition preference for different related host plant species in a multivoltine herbivore Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and host plant preference behaviour in its endoparasitoid Cotesia glomerata L. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)
Summary
Herbivorous insects have to locate their host food plants often embedded in patches that may be species-rich and structurally and chemically complex [1,2]. Their co-evolved natural enemies, such as parasitoids and predators, are challenged when they are searching for hosts or prey [1,2]. Location of these resources during foraging is often characterized by a gradual narrowing down of the area in which these resources can be found, and is described as a reliability-detectability problem [3]. Volatiles that are released by plants in response to herbivore feeding (so-called herbivore induced plant volatiles (HIPVs)) have been extensively studied in relation to parasitoid foraging behaviour over the past 25 years [7,9,10,11,12,13]
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