OLFACTORY RESPONSES OF LYSIPHLEBIA JAPONIC A TO VOLATILE CHEMICALS AND FRESH LEAVES OF THE HOST PLANTS OF COTTON APHIDS IN OLFACTOMETER

摘要

The behavioral responses of the female adult parasitoids Lysiphlebia japonica to plant volatile chemicals, host plants and cotton aphids were tested in a four arm air flow olfactometer. The results indicated that the female parasitoids were strongly attracted by the odors from cotton aphids and their host plants. Damaged cotton leaves were more attractive than intact ones. Among the four olfactory stimuli from the plant volatile chemicals dissolved in liquid paraffin oil at the concentration of 0.01(volume fraction) , the female parasitoids only positively responded to benzaldehyde, but did not show any preference to beta-caryophyllene and beta-pinene. Although heptanol elicited the highest EAG response of the parasitoids, the behavioral test showed that it repelled the parasitoids, and beta-pinene shared the same feature with heptanol at the concentration of 1 (volume fraction). Our results also showed that the female parasitoids only preferred the cotton leaf from which the mummified aphids werecollected, and did not express any interest to the three plants of melon family in the olfactometer. The possible mechanisms are discussed.