Abstract
Chemical communication was shown to play a role in the pear psylla, Cacopsylla bidens. Electrophysiological (EAG) and behavioral responses were investigated in males and females pear psylla . Males were found to be attracted to females, and especially to those on host plants, but not to males, uninfested host plants, or plants infested with conspecific larvae. On the other hand, females were not attracted to males or females but displayed some attraction to host plants. Furthermore, females showed a preference for uninfested pear versus plants infested with conspecific larvae. The antennae of males gave highest electroantenographic response to volatiles from pears infested with females but not males, while females, responded also toward the volatiles of pear alone. These results indicate that females of C. bidens emit sex pheromones that are attractive to the males and suggest that, host volatiles may play a role in host selection by pear psylla females.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 613-626 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Insect Behavior |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank, Mr Saadia Reneh and Amiram Levi for technical assistance, late Mr Reneh Modiano for the editorial comments, the late Mr Ervin Fisher for the preparation of the scanning electron microscopy, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This research was supported by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture chief scientist foundation Grant No 131-1128-03. This manuscript is contribution 502/03 from the Volcani Center, Israel.
Keywords
- Cacopsylla bidens
- kairomones
- pear
- pear psylla
- pheromones
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Insect Science