Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of Theocolax elegans (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) to Cereal Grain Volatiles. (21st January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Germinara, Giacinto Salvatore; De Cristofaro, Antonio; Rotundo, Giuseppe
• Other Names: Stökl Johannes Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2016(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-01-21
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2016/5460819
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Volatiles emitted by the host's food would be the first signals used by parasitoids in the host location process and are thought to play an important role in host habitat location. In this study, the olfactory responses of Theocolax elegans (Westwood), a Pteromalid wasp that parasitizes immature stages of stored-product insect pests developing inside cereal or leguminous grains, to volatiles emitted by healthy wheat grains, their hexane extracts, and different doses of three individual compounds previously identified in cereal grain odors were investigated in Y-tube olfactometer and Petri dish arena behavioral bioassays and electroantennogram recordings. In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, odors from healthy wheat grains and their hexane extracts were attractive to both sexes of T. elegans . Moreover, hexane extracts elicited arresting effects in Petri dish arena. The three synthetic compounds valeraldehyde, maltol, and vanillin elicited dose-dependent responses in both male and female adult wasps confirming the capability of the peripheral olfactory systems to perceive cereal volatiles. In behavioral bioassays, different doses of vanillin were significantly attractive to both sexes.