Chemical cues play an important role in the lives of insects. Volatile cues especially are important factors in the foraging behavior of parasitoids. Herbivorous insects also use volatiles to locate acceptable hosts, for reproductive behavior, and other functions. Egg parasitoids generally respond to stimuli indirectly associated with the host, such as plant volatiles induced by host feeding or oviposition, or sex pheromones. This increases the likelihood that the parasitoid will find suitable host eggs. A better understanding of the chemical ecology of host-parasitoid interactions is important to improve biological control. Stink bugs are important pests of crops worldwide, and their significance in the midsouth United States is increasing. Scelionid wasps are the predominant parasitoids of stink bug egg masses. The interaction between host foraging behavior and volatile cues has been studied for some scelionids but much remains to be learned, as does the role volatiles play in life history of stink bugs. We used electroantennography (EAG) to study perception of plant volatiles by scelionid wasps (Telenomus spp. and Trissolcus spp.) and their herbivorous stink bug hosts. Sectional EAGs were also conducted with stink bugs to determine the relative contribution of each antennal segment. Egg parasitoids and stink bugs exhibited different responses to the compounds tested. Our results suggest that host-induced plant volatiles might function as kairomones for scelionid wasps. This will be the topic of future studies using gas chromatography coupled with EAG (GC-EAG) and behavioral bioassays.
Species 1: Heteroptera Pentatomidae Euschistus servus
Species 2: Heteroptera Pentatomidae Acrosternum hilare
Species 3: Hymenoptera Scelionidae Trissolcus
Keywords: Telenomus, Electroantennogram
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