The egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis uses n-nonadecane, a cuticular hydrocarbon from its stink bug host Nezara viridula, to discriminate between female and male hosts

Abstract

Contact kairomones from adult southern green stink bugs, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) that elicit foraging behavior of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) were investigated in laboratory experiments. Chemical residues from tarsi and scutella of N. viridula induced foraging by gravid female T. basalis. Residues from body parts of female N. viridula elicited stronger responses than those from the corresponding body parts of males. Deproteinized tarsi still elicited searching responses from wasps, indicating that the kairomone was not proteinaceous. Hexane extracts of host cuticular lipids induced searching responses from T. basalis, with a strong preference for extracts from female hosts. Extracts consisted primarily of linear alkanes from nC19 to nC34, with quantitative and qualitative differences between the sexes. Extracts of female N. viridula contained more nC23, nC24, and nC25 than the corresponding extracts from males, whereas nC19 was detected only in extracts from males. Direct-contact solid phase microextraction (DC-SPME) of N. viridula cuticle and of residues left by adult bugs walking on a glass plate confirmed gender-specific differences in nC19. Trissolcus basalis females responded weakly to a reconstructed blend of the straight-chain hydrocarbons, suggesting that minor components other than linear alkanes must be part of the kairomone. Addition of nC19 to hexane extracts of female N. viridula significantly reduced the wasps' arrestment responses, similar to wasps' responses to hexane extracts of male hosts. Overall, our results suggest that a contact kairomone that elicits foraging by T. basalis females is present in the cuticular lipids of N. viridula, and that the presence or absence of nC19 allows T. basalis females to distinguish between residues left by male or female hosts. The ecological significance of these results in the host location behavior of scelionid egg parasitoids is discussed.