Aphid alarm pheromone alters larval behaviour of the predatory gall midge, <i>Aphidoletes aphidimyza</i> and decreases intraguild predation by anthocorid bug, <i>Orius laevigatus</i>



Hosseini, Mojtaba, Mehrparvar, Mohsen, Zytynska, Sharon E ORCID: 0000-0002-0174-3303, Hatano, Eduardo and Weisser, Wolfgang W
(2021) Aphid alarm pheromone alters larval behaviour of the predatory gall midge, <i>Aphidoletes aphidimyza</i> and decreases intraguild predation by anthocorid bug, <i>Orius laevigatus</i>. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 111 (4). pp. 445-453.

[img] Text
Hosseini et al-Author accepted.pdf - Author Accepted Manuscript

Download (555kB) | Preview

Abstract

Intraguild predation is the killing and consuming of a heterospecific competitor that uses similar resources as the prey, and also benefit from preying on each other. We investigated the foraging behaviour of the gallmidge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza, a predator of aphids used for biological control that is also the intraguild prey for most other aphid natural enemies. We focus on how aphid alarm pheromone can alter the behaviour of the gallmidge, and predation by the anthocorid bug Orius laevigatus (O. laevigatus). We hypothesised that gallmidges would respond to the presence of (E)-β-farnesene (EBF) by leaving the host plant. Since feeding by Aphidoletes gallmidge larvae does not induce EBF emission by aphids, this emission indicates the presence of an intraguild predator. We found that gallmidge larvae reduced their foraging activities and left the plant earlier when exposed to EBF, particularly when aphids were also present. Contrastingly, gallmidge females did not change the time visiting plants when exposed to EBF, but lay more eggs on plants that had a higher aphid density. Lastly, EBF reduced the number of attacks of the intraguild predator, O. laevigatus, on gallmidge larvae, potentially because more gallmidges stopped aphid feeding and moved off the plant at which point O. laevigatus predated on aphids. Our work highlights the importance of understanding how intraguild predation can influence the behaviour of potential biological control agents and the impact on pest control services when other natural enemies are also present.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Aphis fabae, competition, intraguild predation, Orius laevigatus, signalling
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Oct 2021 15:39
Last Modified: 18 Oct 2023 11:38
DOI: 10.1017/S0007485321000122
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3139745