<i>Silene latifolia</i> temporal patterns of volatile induction and suppression after floral interaction by the nursery pollinator, <i>Hadena bicruris</i> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

After 24-hour Hadena bicruris floral interaction on Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae) with or without oviposition, we examined temporal volatile emission patterns for 3 days from plants with moth interaction and from neighboring plants only exposed to plant volatiles. Several lilac aldehydes and veratrole were progressively reduced after moth exposure without oviposition (by 30 to 40% after 24 hours and by 60 to 90% after 72 hours), but β -myrcene and β -pinene emissions increased by 200 to 300% only when exposure involved oviposition. Exposing S. latifolia to H. bicruris floral interaction without oviposition yielded no change in volatile organic compound (VOC) emission of neighboring S. latifolia; with oviposition, neighboring plants had 80 to126% increases in emission rates for β -myrcene and β -pinene. Progressive reduction of S. latifolia VOC emission rates might help plants to avoid nursery pollinator oviposition. In contrast, with H. bicruris oviposition on S. latifolia flowers some VOCs (common herbivore induced plant volatiles i. e. HIPVs) were induced. Whether oviposition occurred on S. latifolia strongly influenced neighboring plant VOC emission.