Perception and behavioral responses to host plant volatiles in three Adelphocoris species

Authors: CHUN-LI, XIU - Institute Of Plant Protection - China; HONG-SHENG, PAN - Institute Of Plant Protection - China; BING, LIU - Institute Of Plant Protection - China; ZONGXIU, LUO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Williams, Livy; YI-ZHONG, YANG - Yangzhou University; YAN-HUI, LU - Institute Of Plant Protection - China

Submitted to: Journal of Chemical Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2019
Publication Date: 9/3/2019
Citation: Chun-Li, X., Hong-Sheng, P., Bing, L., Zongxiu, L., Williams Iii, L.H., Yi-Zhong, Y., Yan-Hui, L. 2019. Perception and behavioral responses to host plant volatiles in three Adelphocoris species. Journal of Chemical Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01102-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01102-3

Interpretive Summary: Monitoring the presence, abundance and activity of insect pests that attack crops is crucial to effective and environmentally friendly management of the pests. Most insect pests use odors produced by crops to find the crops and make the decision to feed and reproduce on them. Thus, plant-produced odors have the potential to be used in insect traps to monitor pest insects. Three global insect pests were found to be attractive to several chemical odors from known host plants in chemical and behavioral laboratory experiments. However, each of the three insect species was attracted to a different combination of plant odors. The identified plant odors may be important in host plant location by the pest insects, to the development of attractants for trapping of the pests to help in pest management decisions for grower.

Technical Abstract: In China, the genus Adelphocoris (Hemiptera: Miridae) includes three dominant pest species (A. suturalis, A. lineolatus and A. fasciaticollis), that cause much damage to cotton, alfalfa and other crops. We examined the role that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from plants play in host plant location by these three phytophagous insects. Gas chromatography coupled with electroantennography (GC-EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to identify seven electrophysiologically active VOCs from 11 host plants of the three Adelphocoris species. Although the insects responded to all of these VOCs in subsequent electroantennogram (EAG) trials, not all of the VOCs evoked positive behavioral responses in Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. A. suturalis adults showed behavioral responses to four EAG-active VOCs (i.e., n-butyl ether, butyl acrylate, butyl propionate and butyl butyrate). A. lineolatus was attractive to these four VOCs as well as p-xylene. However, A. fasciaticollis was attracted only by butyl acrylate, butyl propionate and butyl butyrate. In field trials, A. suturalis was highly attracted to five compounds (m-xylene, n-butyl ether, butyl acrylate, butyl butyrate and butyl propionate). Similarly, A. fasciaticollis was also highly attracted to five compounds (m-xylene, butyl acrylate, butyl butyrate, butyl propionate, and 1,8-cineole). In addition, A. lineolatus was significantly attractive to six compounds (m-xylene, p-xylene, n-butyl ether, butyl acrylate, butyl butyrate, and butyl propionate). Overall, we identified several VOCs that may be important in host plant location by Adelphocoris species, thus contributing to development of attractants for adult trapping.