Eur. J. Entomol. 115: 112-116, 2018 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2018.009

Influence of prolonged dietary experience during the larval stage on novel odour preferences in adults of noctuid stem borer moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)Original article

Christophe PETIT1,2, Peter AHUYA2, Bruno LE RU1,2, Laure KAISER-ARNAULD1, Myriam HARRY1, Paul-André CALATAYUD1,2
1 UMR EGCE (Evolution, Génome, Comportement, Ecologie), CNRS-IRD-Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France; e-mail: christophepetit86@gmail.com, bpleru@gmail.com, laure.kaiser-arnauld@egce.cnrs-gif.fr, myriam.harry@u-psud.fr, paul-andre.calatayud@egce.cnrs-gif.fr
2 IRD c/o icipe, NSBB Project, P.O. Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya; e-mail: pahuya@icipe.org, pcalatayud@icipe.org

In Lepidoptera, larval dietary experience of volatile cues can induce adult preference for these cues. However, such induction may require several generations, depending in part on the degree of specialization of the insects. In a previous study, using species of noctuid stem borers with different diet breadths, namely the polyphagous Sesamia nonagrioides, the oligophagous Busseola fusca and monophagous Busseola nairobica, it was shown that in S. nonagrioides, one generation was enough to induce a preference for vanillin in the resulting gravid females, whereas even two generations failed to induce a response in adults of Busseola spp. In this study, we checked whether a higher number of generations of exposure to a vanillin-enriched medium could induce a significant olfactory preference for this medium in the species B. fusca and B. nairobica, which have narrower host-plant utilization ranges than S. nonagrioides. Larvae were reared to the adult stage on an artificial diet enriched with vanillin for periods of from 2 to 7 or 8 generations, followed by two-choice tests on gravid females using a Y-tube olfactometer. The results showed different responses according to the species: for the oligophagous B. fusca, there was no significant effect of the conditioning, while a significant preference for the odours emitted by this new vanillin-enriched diet was recorded for the polyphagous S. nonagrioides and monophagous B. nairobica, but after different numbers of generations. In conclusion, different diet breadths seem to be associated with different levels of plasticity in the odour preference of adults. The implication of this result for insects' adaptability in a changing landscape is discussed.

Keywords: Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Sesamia nonagrioides, Busseola fusca, Busseola nairobica, larval dietary experience, adult olfactory preference

Received: October 2, 2017; Revised: February 22, 2018; Accepted: February 22, 2018; Published online: March 6, 2018  Show citation

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PETIT, C., AHUYA, P., LE RU, B., KAISER-ARNAULD, L., HARRY, M., & CALATAYUD, P. (2018). Influence of prolonged dietary experience during the larval stage on novel odour preferences in adults of noctuid stem borer moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). EJE, 115, Article 112-116. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2018.009
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