Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Is quality more important than quantity? Insect behavioural responses to changes in a volatile blend after stemborer oviposition on an African grass
Biology Letters, Volume 6, No. 3, Year 2010
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Plants subjected to insect attack usually increase volatile emission which attracts natural enemies and repels further herbivore colonization. Less is known about the capacity of herbivores to suppress volatiles and the multitrophic consequences thereof. In our study, the African forage grass, Brachiaria brizantha, was exposed to ovipositing spotted stemborer, Chilo partellus, moths. A marked reduction in emission of the main volatile, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (Z3HA), occurred following oviposition but the ratio of certain other minor component volatiles to Z3HA was increased. While further herbivore colonization was reduced on plants after oviposition, the new volatile profile caused increased attraction of an adapted parasitoid, Cotesia sesamiae. Our results show that insect responses are dependent on the quality of volatile emission rather than merely the quantity in this multitrophic interaction. © 2009 The Royal Society.
Authors & Co-Authors
Bruce, Toby J.A.
United Kingdom, Harpenden
Rothamsted Research
Midega, Charles Aura Odhiambo
Kenya, Nairobi
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Birkett, Michael Alexander
United Kingdom, Harpenden
Rothamsted Research
Pickett, John Anthony
United Kingdom, Harpenden
Rothamsted Research
Khan, Zeyaur Rahman
Kenya, Nairobi
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
Statistics
Citations: 109
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1098/rsbl.2009.0953
ISSN:
17449561
e-ISSN:
1744957X
Research Areas
Environmental