Orientation ofMicroplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to green leaf volatiles: Dose-response curves

Abstract

FemaleMicroplitis croceipes wasps were tested in a wind tunnel for their ability to orient to various concentrations of eight different green leaf volatile (GLV) substances [hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenyl propionate, and (Z)-3-hexenyl butyrate]. Overall, the esters elicited the greatest percentage of successful orientation flights, the alcohols elicited an intermediate response, and the aldehydes elicited a low response. The semilog dose-response curves were generally hill-shaped with high responses at medium release rates and low responses at high or low release rates. For the aldehydes, positive responses occurred at all GLV release rates between 0.01 and 100 nl/min. For some alcohols and esters, positive responses occurred at release rates as low as 1 pl/min and as high as 1μl/min. These data show thatM. croceipes wasps are strongly attracted to GLVs and are capable of orienting to GLV concentrations that would occur in nature when a caterpillar feeds on a green leaf. Hence, in nature, GLVs may be important clues, enablingM. croceipes to locate their hosts.