Targeting diamondback moths in greenhouses by attracting specific native parasitoids with herbivory-induced plant volatiles

We investigated the recruitment of specific parasitoids using a specific blend of synthetic herbivory-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as a novel method of pest control in greenhouses. In the Miyama rural area in Kyoto, Japan, diamondback moth (DBM) ( Plutella xylostella , Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae are an important pest of cruciferous crops in greenhouses, and Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of DBM, is found in the surrounding areas. Dispensers of HIPVs that attracted C. vestalis and honey feeders were set inside greenhouses (treated greenhouses). The monthly incidence of DBMs in the treated greenhouses was significantly lower than that in the untreated greenhouses over a 2-year period. The monthly incidences of C. vestalis and DBMs were not significantly different in the untreated greenhouses, whereas monthly C. vestalis incidence was significantly higher than monthly DBM incidence in the treated greenhouses. Poisson regression analyses showed that, in both years, a significantly higher number of C. vestalis was recorded in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses when the number of DBM adults increased. We concluded that DBMs were suppressed more effectively by C. vestalis in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses.

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Oviposition of diamondback moth Plutella xylostella females is affected by herbivore-induced plant volatiles that attract the larval parasitoid Cotesia vestalis

Arthropod-Plant Interactions ◽

10.1007/s11829-016-9484-2 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 235-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Masayoshi Uefune ◽

Kaori Shiojiri ◽

Junji Takabayashi

Keyword(s):

Plutella Xylostella ◽

Plant Volatiles ◽

Diamondback Moth ◽

Cotesia Vestalis ◽

Induced Plant Volatiles ◽

Larval Parasitoid ◽

Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles

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Seasonal occurrence of diamondback moths Plutella xylostella and their parasitoid wasps Cotesia vestalis in greenhouses and their surrounding areas

10.1101/357814 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Junichiro Abe ◽

Masayoshi Uefune ◽

Kinuyo Yoneya ◽

Kaori Shiojiri ◽

Junji Takabayashi

Keyword(s):

Brassica Rapa ◽

Plutella Xylostella ◽

Plant Volatiles ◽

Diamondback Moth ◽

Seasonal Occurrence ◽

Parasitoid Wasps ◽

Surrounding Area ◽

Cotesia Vestalis ◽

Induced Plant Volatiles ◽

Surrounding Areas

AbstractWe observed the seasonal occurrence of diamondback moth (DBM) larvae, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), and their native parasitoid wasps, Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), on mizuna plants, Brassica rapa var. laciniifolia (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), in three commercial greenhouses and on wild cruciferous weeds, Rorippa indica (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), in the surrounding area in the Miyama countryside in Kyoto, Japan. The occurrences of DBM larvae in greenhouses followed their occurrence in the surrounding area: however, some occurrences of DBM in greenhouses took place when the DBM population in the surrounding was rather low. This suggests that the occurrence of DBM in greenhouses cannot always be explained by its seasonal occurrence in the surrounding areas. The occurrence of C. vestalis followed that of DBM larvae in mizuna greenhouses and in the surrounding areas. No C. vestalis were recorded in greenhouses when DBM was not present. Cotesia vestalis females preferred volatiles emitted from DBM-infested mizuna plants to those from uninfested conspecifics under laboratory conditions. Natural HIPVs (herbivory-induced plant volatiles) emitted from DBM-infested mizuna plants in greenhouses probably attracted C. vestalis from the surrounding area to cause their co-occurrence.

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Parasitic wasp females are attracted to blends of host-induced plant volatiles: do qualitative and quantitative differences in the blend matter?

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.2-57.v2 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 57 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Masayoshi Uefune ◽

Soichi Kugimiya ◽

Rika Ozawa ◽

Junji Takabayashi

Keyword(s):

Plant Volatiles ◽

Diamondback Moth ◽

Parasitic Wasp ◽

Cotesia Vestalis ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Induced Plant Volatiles ◽

Choice Tests ◽

Volatile Blend ◽

Quantitative Changes ◽

Synthetic Blend

Naïve Cotesia vestalis wasps, parasitoids of diamondback moth (DBM) larvae, are attracted to a synthetic blend (Blend A) of host-induced plant volatiles composed of sabinene, n-heptanal, α-pinene, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, in a ratio of 1.8:1.3:2.0:3.0. We studied whether qualitative (adding (R)-limonene: Blend B) or quantitative changes (changing ratios: Blend C) to Blend A affected the olfactory response of C. vestalis in the background of intact komatsuna plant volatiles. Naïve wasps showed equal preference to Blends A and B and Blends A and C in two-choice tests. Wasps with oviposition experience in the presence of Blend B preferred Blend B over Blend A, while wasps that had oviposited without a volatile blend showed no preference between the two. Likewise, wasps that had starvation experience in the presence of Blend B preferred Blend A over Blend B, while wasps that had starved without a volatile blend showed no preference between the two. Wasps that had oviposition experience either with or without Blend A showed equal preferences between Blends C and A. However, wasps that had starvation experience in the presence of Blend A preferred Blend C over Blend A, while those that starved without a volatile blend showed equal preferences between the two. By manipulating quality and quantity of the synthetic attractants, we showed to what extent C. vestalis could discriminate/learn slight differences between blends that were all, in principle, attractive.

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