Abstract
Herbivores walking over the epicuticular wax layer of a plant may leave tracks that disclose their presence to hunting predators or parasitoids. The braconid wasp Cotesia marginiventris is a solitary parasitoid of young noctuid caterpillars. It can locate potential hosts from a distance by orienting toward the scent of herbivore-damaged plants. Upon landing on the caterpillars’ food plant, the female parasitoid searches for further cues (kairomones) that confirm the presence of a suitable host. In a previous study, we showed that C. marginiventris recognizes the chemical footprints of absent Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillars on a leaf. Here, we report on the persistence and chemical nature of this host location kairomone. In a series of behavioral assays, we confirmed that caterpillars of S. frugiperda leave chemical tracks that elicit characteristic antennation behavior in C. marginiventris for up to 2 days. Both hexane extracts of caterpillar footprints and of the larvae’s ventral cuticle induced antennation and contained almost identical long-chain hydrocarbons, thus suggesting the prolegs and claspers as the kairomones’ main source. A series of linear C21 to C32 alkanes accounted for ca 90% of all identified compounds. Female wasps showed significant antennation responses on leaves treated with a reconstructed blend of these n-alkanes. However, wasp responses were relatively weak. Therefore, we presume that minor compounds, such as monomethyl-branched alkanes, which were also found, may contribute additionally to host recognition.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to G. Trautmann (Bayer CropScience) for weekly supplies of Spodoptera frugiperda and to V. Uhl for technical assistance. We also thank M. Riedel for assistance with compound identifications, M. Riederer for making lab space available, and J. Winkler-Steinbeck for cultivating barley. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments. Financial support was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB 567, TP B9).
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Rostás, M., Wölfling, M. Caterpillar Footprints as Host Location Kairomones for Cotesia marginiventris: Persistence and Chemical Nature. J Chem Ecol 35, 20–27 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9590-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9590-z