Journal
JOURNAL OF INSECT BEHAVIOR
Volume 17, Issue 1, Pages 17-39Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1023/B:JOIR.0000025130.20327.1a
Keywords
crucifer flea beetle; Phyllotreta cruciferae; prefeeding behavior; host plant resistance; host selection; host acceptance
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The prefeeding behaviours of adult crucifer flea beetles, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae), were determined on seedlings of the host plant, Brassica napus, and compared to behaviors on seedlings of the nonhost crucifers, Crambe abyssinica, Sinapis alba, and Camelina sativa. Three stages of prefeeding behaviour, i.e., acclimation, stimulation, and initial feeding, were distinguished through observation of filmed beetles. Both antennal and tarsal chemoreceptors are important in determination of host plant quality by the crucifer flea beetle. The results of this study suggest that the sequence of prefeeding behaviors plays a crucial role in the onset of feeding. Differences in time spent on plant tissue and the frequency and duration of prefeeding behaviors provide insight into possible mechanisms of resistance to flea beetles in the non-Brassica crucifers. The nonpreferred hosts C. abyssinica and S. alba contain deterrent phytochemicals that partially inhibit feeding. These deterrent compounds appear to be volatile in nature in S. alba but nonvolatile in C. abyssinica. CFB resistance in the nonhost C. sativa may result from either the presence of repellent or the absence of stimulatory volatile phytochemicals.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available