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Real-Time Monitoring of (E)-β-Farnesene Emission in Colonies of the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, Under Lacewing and Ladybird Predation

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Abstract

Aphids (Homoptera) are constantly under attack by a variety of predators and parasitoids. Upon attack, most aphids release alarm pheromone that induces escape behavior in other colony members, such as dropping off the host plant. In the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris (Aphididae), the only component of this alarm pheromone is the sesquiterpene (E)-β-farnesene (EBF). EBF is thought to act as a kairomone by attracting various species of parasitoids and predators including lacewings and ladybirds. Lately, it also was proposed that EBF is constantly emitted in low quantities and used by aphids as a social cue. No study has focused on emission dynamics of this compound over a long time period. Here, we present the first long-time monitoring of EBF emission in aphid colonies using real-time monitoring. We used a zNoseTM to analyze the headspace of colonies of the pea aphid, under lacewing (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) and ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) predation, over 24 hr. We found no emission of EBF in the absence of predation. When either a ladybird adult or a lacewing larva was placed in an aphid colony, EBF was detected in the headspace of the colonies in the form of emission blocks; i.e., periods in which EBF was emitted alternating with periods without EBF emission. The number of emission blocks correlated well with the number of predation events that were determined at the end of each experiment. There was no circadian rhythm in alarm pheromone emission, and both predators were active during both night and day. Our results show that alarm pheromone emission pattern within an aphid colony is driven by the feeding behavior of a predator.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Katz Biotech for the supply of aphid predators free of charge, Anja David and Dr. Sybille Unsicker of the MPI for Chemical Ecology for providing the heated desorber tube and the air pump system, and Sylvia Creutzburg for her support in rearing aphids and plants.

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Author notes

  1. Christoph Joachim & Wolfgang W. Weisser

    Present address: Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, 85354, Freising, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller University, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Christoph Joachim & Wolfgang W. Weisser

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  1. Christoph Joachim
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  2. Wolfgang W. Weisser
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Correspondence to Christoph Joachim.

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Figure S1

Examples of aphid alarm pheromone, (E)-β-farnesene (EBF), emission patterns from an aphid colony before a predator was introduced. A) Lacewing replicate #5, B) Ladybird replicate #3. The emission patterns do not resemble EBF emission patterns caused by a predator attack. (JPEG 33 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 14014 kb)

Figure S2

Examples of aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene (EBF) emission patterns of an aphid colony under lacewing (A) or ladybird (B) attack, respectively. Gray background indicates scotophase; white background indicates photophase. Grey arrows indicate the start of an emission block as defined in the text. A) Lacewing replicate #8, number of aphids consumed =8, number of emission blocks =4. B) Ladybird replicate #5, number of aphids consumed =3, number of emission blocks =3. (JPEG 56 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 31722 kb)

Table S3

1 Key for classification of individual aphid alarm pheromone, (E)-β-farnesene (EBF), emission blocks to the five different emission-block types (as described in the text). (PDF 6 kb)

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Joachim, C., Weisser, W.W. Real-Time Monitoring of (E)-β-Farnesene Emission in Colonies of the Pea Aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, Under Lacewing and Ladybird Predation. J Chem Ecol 39, 1254–1262 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-013-0348-2

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