Drost Y.C., W.J. lewis, and J.H. Tumlinson. 1988. Beneficial Arthropod Behavior Mediated By Airborne Semiochemicals: V. Influence of rearing method, host plant, and adult experience on host-searching behvior of Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) , a larval parasitoid of Heliothis. J. Chem. Ecol. 14: 1607-1616.

ABSTRACT

Rearing the parasitoid M. croceipes on hosts fed cowpea -seedling leaves instead of artificial diet increased the percentage of oriented flights to odors of a cowpea deedling-H. zea complex in a flight tunnel, However, the increase in response was much stronger after adult females had searched a fresh plant-host complex just prior to a test. The host plant appera to be of major importance in the parasitoid-host relationship: host-plant species, growth phase, and part of the host plant influence the parasitoid's response in the flight tunnel. The percentage of inexperienced females responding to infested leaves was higher for 4-5-day old females than for 0- to 1-day-old females, while the response to uninfested flowers was equally high for both age groups. Olfactory experience with odors of an attractive plant-host complex increased the response to an unattractive plant-host complex. Possible implications of the results are discussed.