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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Protection and Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #151326
Title: PARASITIC WASPS LEARN AND REPORT DIVERSE CHEMICALS WITH UNIQUE CONDITIONABLE BEHAVIORS

Author
item Olson, Dawn
item RAINS, GLEN - UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
item MEINERS, T - FREIE UNIV/GERMANY
item TAKASU, K - KYUSHU UNIV/JAPAN
item TUMLINSON, J - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item WACKERS, F - THE NETHERLANDS
item Lewis, Wallace

Submitted to: Chemical Senses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/13/2003
Publication Date: 8/1/2003
Citation: Olson, D.M., Rains, G.C., Meiners, T., Takasu, K., Tertuliano, M., Tumlinson, J.H., Wackers, F.L., Lewis, W.J. 2003. Parasitic wasps learn and report diverse chemicals with unique conditionable behaviors. Chemical Senses. 28:545-549.

Interpretive Summary: Depsite the abundant information on olfaction and odor learning in biotic interactions, the mechanisms involved in the use of odor cues are poorly understood. Herein we studied the model parasitic wasp species, Microplitis croceipes, and report that they are able to learn, by linking odors to food or hosts, very diverse chemicals such as constituents of explosives and neurotoxins, and they express very distinct behaviors thereby reporting the presence of these chemicals. This flexibility of parasitoids to link diverse chemicals to resource needs and subsequently report them with recognizable behaviors provides new revelation of their foraging adaptability and provides a model for further dissection of olfactory learning related processes.

Technical Abstract: The mechanisms and processes involved in the use of odor cues in biotic interactions are poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the use of the parasitic wasp, Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidiae) as models for olfaction studies because of their known ability to use chemicals to forage more effectively. We found that these wasps readily learn to associate, with either, sucrose and water as food or Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larval frass, as host rewards, very diverse chemicals that are likely outside their natural foraging history. In addition, they display stereotypical behaviors, such as seeking and coiling in the presence of these chemicals depending on expectations gained from prior training (food or host, respectively). This flexibility of parasitoids to link diverse chemicals to resource needs and to report them with specific and highly recognizable behaviors provides new revelation of their foraging adaptability and opens prospects for their use as models for further dissection of olfaction and learning related processes and the potential development of biological detectors.