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Behavior of the tachinid parasitoid Exorista japonica (Diptera: Tachinidae) on herbivore-infested plants

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Abstract

Odors from corn plants infested with the larvae of the noctuid herbivore Mythimna separata (Walker) attract tachinid fly, Exorista japonica Townsend, females; and odors from corn plants artificially damaged also attract this fly. We investigated the responses of flies to herbivore-infested, artificially damaged, and undamaged plants before and after arrival at the target plants to measure timing of the behavioral sequence. The behavior of the flies for 10 min after takeoff from a release point was observed in a wind-tunnel bioassay. The percentage of flies attracted to the plants was higher in infested and artificially damaged plants than in undamaged plants. Latency before takeoff was longer in undamaged plants, and time from takeoff to arrival at the plant was also longer in undamaged plants. Moreover, flies stayed longer on infested and artificially damaged plants. Flies walked longer on infested plants than on artificially damaged and undamaged plants. In this paper, we summarize the behavioral data and discuss the host-searching behavior of E. japonica females.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Prof. DeMar Taylor for helpful comments on the manuscript, Prof. Hiroshi Honda for encouragement during this study, and Dr. Eric Wajnberg for useful advice on the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Entomology and Zoology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Kazushi Hanyu & Yooichi Kainoh

  2. Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8686, Japan

    Ryoko T. Ichiki & Satoshi Nakamura

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  1. Kazushi Hanyu
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  2. Ryoko T. Ichiki
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  3. Satoshi Nakamura
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  4. Yooichi Kainoh
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Correspondence to Yooichi Kainoh.

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Hanyu, K., Ichiki, R.T., Nakamura, S. et al. Behavior of the tachinid parasitoid Exorista japonica (Diptera: Tachinidae) on herbivore-infested plants. Appl Entomol Zool 46, 565–571 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-011-0078-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-011-0078-2

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