A NO‐CHOICE WIND TUNNEL OLFACTOMETER SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF PLANT VOLATILES TO ADULT HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA (HÜBNER) (LEPIDOPTERA:NOCTUIDAE) *

Abstract A bioassay system to evaluate adult cotton bollworm (CBW), Helicoverpa armigera, behavioral responses to plant volatiles was described. The system was comprised of a no‐choice olfactometer, a wind tunnel, and a wind tunnel room. The olfactometer was designed to provide for the testing and evaluation of volatiles from a variety of natural and synthetic sources. The behavioral responses in this system demonstrated that the volatiles of wilted leaves of Pterocarya stenoptera, Toona sinensis and Populus canadensis, the main materials of which poplar bundles were made, only could attract virgin females but not mated females and males. The volatiles emitted from fresh carrot and celery flowers did not exhibit significant attractiveness to both sexes of CBW. 0.1% phenylacetaldehyde showed significant attraction for virgin females and males. The biological significance of attraction of volatiles from these plants for CBW was discussed.     

一种测定植物挥发物对棉铃虫引诱作用的无选择性风洞嗅觉仪(英文)

发展了一套测定棉铃虫Helicoverpaarmigera (H櫣ｂｎｅｒ)对植物挥发物的行为反应的生测系统。这套系统由嗅觉仪、风洞和风洞室组成。用这套系统测定了棉铃虫对萎蔫后的枫杨Pterocaryastenoptera叶、加拿大杨Populuscanadensis叶、香椿Toonasisnensis叶、新鲜的芹菜与胡萝卜花挥发物以及苯乙醛的行为反应。结果显示 ,萎蔫的枫杨叶、加拿大杨叶、香椿叶的挥发物均对棉铃虫处女雌蛾表现出显著的引诱作用 ,而对已交配过的雌蛾和雄蛾无明显的引诱作用 ;新鲜的芹菜与胡萝卜花挥发物对棉铃虫两性性成虫均不表现出显著的引诱作用 ;苯乙醛对棉铃虫处女雌、雄蛾有较强的引诱作用。讨论了杨树枝把引诱棉铃虫的原因。     

Attraction of pepper weevil to volatiles from damaged pepper plants

Pioneer herbivorous insects may find their host plants through a combination of visual and constitutive host‐plant volatile cues, but once a site has been colonized, feeding damage changes the quantity and quality of plant volatiles released, potentially altering the behavior of conspecifics who detect them. Previous work on the pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), demonstrated that this insect can detect and orient to constitutive host plant volatiles released from pepper [Capsicum annuum L. (Solanaceae)]. Here we investigated the response of the weevil to whole plants and headspace collections of plants damaged by conspecifics. Mated weevils preferred damaged flowering as well as damaged fruiting plants over undamaged plants in a Y‐tube olfactometer. They also preferred volatiles from flowering and fruiting plants with actively feeding weevils over plants with old feeding damage. Both sexes preferred volatiles from fruiting plants with actively feeding weevils over flowering plants with actively feeding weevils. Females preferred plants with 48 h of prior feeding damage over plants subjected to weevil feeding for only 1 h, whereas males showed no preference. When attraction to male‐ and female‐inflicted feeding damage was compared in the Y‐tube, males and females showed no significant preference. Wind tunnel plant assays and four‐choice olfactometer assays using headspace volatiles confirmed the attraction of weevils to active feeding damage on fruiting plants. In a final four‐choice olfactometer assay using headspace collections, we tested the attraction of mated males and virgin and mated females to male and female feeding damage. In these headspace volatile assays, mated females again showed no preference for male feeding; however, virgin females and males preferred the headspace volatiles of plants fed on by males, which contained the male aggregation pheromone in addition to plant volatiles. The potential for using plant volatile lures to improve pepper weevil monitoring and management is discussed.     

Olfactory Responses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anaphes iole</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) to Volatile Signals Derived from Host Habitats

Anaphes iole Girault is a frequent parasitoid of Lygus spp. eggs in the United States, and has potential as a biological control agent against Lygus hesperus Knight in different crops. Feeding and oviposition by L. hesperus induce emission of plant volatiles, but studies to date do not address the role of plant volatiles in the host-searching behavior of A. iole. In this study, a four-arm olfactometer was used to test the responses of female parasitoids to odors emanating from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L., Malvaceae) plants damaged by L. hesperus females, L. hesperus males, larvae of the nonhost Spodoptera exigua Hubner, or mechanically, or to odors from L. hesperus females alone. In addition, various plants damaged by L. hesperus females were evaluated in the olfactometer: cotton, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L., Fabaceae), common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris L., Asteraceae), annual ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia L., Asteraceae), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L., Amaranthaceae). In all olfactometry bioassays, treatment odors were compared against three controls (humidified air). Results showed that A. iole females were consistently attracted to odors derived from different plant–L. hesperus complexes, while odors from plants subjected to nonhost (S. exigua) or mechanical damage and L. hesperus females alone were not attractive or only variably attractive. These findings suggest that while searching for hosts A. iole females use specific volatiles induced by L. hesperus feeding and oviposition to locate hosts inhabiting a wide variety of plants, including annual and perennial species from four plant families. It was suggested that future research should seek to identify the chemical elicitors involved in the release of plant volatiles attractive to A. iole females.     

Males of the predatory mirid bug Macrolophus caliginosus exploit plant volatiles induced by conspecifics as a sexual synomone

The olfactory responses of male and female Macrolophus caliginosus Wagner (Heteroptera: Miridae) adults towards volatiles from green bean plants previously exposed to feeding by conspecifics and to direct odours from conspecifics were tested in a Y-tube olfactometer. Female M. caliginosus did not respond to volatiles from plants exposed to mirid feeding or to odours emitted directly by adult mirids. In contrast, male mirid bugs were attracted both to volatiles from plants previously exposed to feeding by conspecific females and to odours emitted by conspecifics only with a marginally significant preference for the former. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that mirid feeding induced the release of 11 additional compounds as compared to the volatiles emitted from clean plants. Three of these substances (5-ethyl-2(5H)-furanone, Z-3-hexenyl tiglate, and E,E-α-farnesene) were released only after feeding by females. Furthermore, 21 compounds were identified in volatiles emitted directly by mirids, 12 of which were unique to the mirids (i.e., not present in clean plants or plants previously exposed to mirid feeding). The results suggest that female-specific herbivore-induced plant volatiles play a role as mate-finding cues by the male mirids. The ecological implications of the findings are discussed, and the term ‘sexual synomone’ is introduced.     

Innate olfactory responses of female and male parasitoid Apanteles taragamae Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) toward host plant infested by the cucumber moth Diaphania indica Saunders (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The behavioural responses of Apanteles taragamae, a larval parasitoid of the cucumber moth Diaphania indica, to the volatiles of cucumber plants was investigated in a four-arm olfactometer. Females and males were given a choice between several odour sources that included (1) clean air, (2) uninfested, (3) host-infested, and (4) mechanically damaged cucumber plants. Females and males showed different preferences for volatiles emanating from these plants. Females responded significantly longer to the volatiles from uninfested plants than clean air, and to host-infested plants than uninfested plants. There were no significant differences in female responses to the volatiles from mechanically damaged and uninfested plants. Males responded significantly longer to clean air rather than uninfested plants. The volatiles from both uninfested and host-infested cucumber plants may play important roles in host habitat location of A. taragamae females.     

Odour‐mediated orientation behaviour of the lily beetle Lilioceris lilii

The lily beetle Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) feeds on Lilium, Fritillaria and Cardiocrinum plants and is a serious pest in gardens and amenity plantings in parts of Northern Europe and North America. In the present study, the odour‐mediated behaviour of L. lilii is investigated by behavioural bioassays using a linear‐track olfactometer. The behavioural responses of L. lilii to hosts and conspecifics are, at least in part, odour‐mediated and the responses differ with respect to the physiological (reproductive) state of the adult beetle (i.e. pre‐ or post‐diapause). Significantly more diapaused female L. lilii move into air streams containing the odour of intact host plants than into clean air, and move into air streams containing odour of host plants and beetles combined in preference to odour from manually‐damaged host plants. Diapaused females also move into air streams containing odours from intact plants over those from larval‐infested plants. Pre‐diapause males move into the air streams of intact plants rather than L. lilii‐infested plants. Pre‐diapause females show no significant response in any experiment. The data indicate that the odour‐mediated responses of L. lilii are consistent with those known for other chrysomelids that produce a male aggregation pheromone to which reproductive individuals of both sexes respond.     

Plant volatiles and density-dependent conspecific female odors are used by Asian citrus psyllid to evaluate host suitability on a spatial scale

We investigated how chemical cues derived from female Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) and their host plants affect host acceptance choices by conspecifics. In four-choice cage and two-choice olfactometer assays, female psyllids avoided conspecific female cues in a density-dependent manner. However, odors from citrus plants actively damaged by psyllid feeding were attractive to conspecific females. When odors from feeding-damaged plants were presented simultaneously with odors from female D. citri, attraction of female conspecifics was no longer observed as compared with a clean air control in olfactometer assays. In subsequent experiments, D. citri females were released within arenas that contained actively feeding-damaged or non-damaged (control) citrus plants, each with previously psyllid-infested and uninfested young leaves. D. citri development is linked to the presence of these newly emerging leaves which is the only site of nymphal development. Female D. citri were initially attracted by the actively damaged plants as compared with non-damaged controls. After acceptance of plants that were actively damaged by feeding, D. citri females preferentially chose and settled on uninfested young leaves as compared with previously infested young leaves. A herbivore-induced plant volatile attractant and a female-specific odor repellent appear to be complementary foraging cues providing psyllids with information at two spatial scales: (1) the whole plant level for choosing a plant potentially harboring male conspecifics for mating, and (2) the within plant level to reduce intra-conspecific competition by identifying previously exploited resources.     

Response of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus to volatiles emitted by intact plants and conspecifics

The response of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus Fab. (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae) to the volatiles of undamaged plants and conspecifics was tested in a Y-tube-olfactometer-bioassay. Beetles that had hibernated preferred significantly the volatiles emitted by their most important host plant, oilseed-rape (Brassica napus L. ‘Lorar’) in the early bud-stage. However, the odour emitted by rye (Secale cereale L.), tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) were also attractive when tested against the corresponding growing-medium. Dock plants (Rumex obtusifolius L.) and touch-me-not (Impatiens parviflora L.) possessed no attractive properties. When tested against each other, oilseed-rape was preferred significantly by M. aeneus above all other plants, with the exception of tomato. The results indicate that M. aeneus is able to locate its host plant by olfactory stimuli in the early bud-stage, i.e. in that stage in which the infestation begins in the field and when the typical yellow colour and floral scent of oilseed-rape are absent. Female pollen beetles avoided significantly the volatiles emitted by female conspecifics and an ether extract of conspecifics of mixed sex, while volatiles from males had no significant effect on females. Furthermore, males showed no preferences when responding to conspecific odour in the olfactometer. These results suggest the existence of an epideictic pheromone for M. aeneus.     

Role of volatile semiochemicals in host location by the egg parasitoid Anagrus breviphragma

Recent investigations conducted on several tritrophic systems have demonstrated that egg parasitoids, when searching for host eggs, may exploit plant synomones that have been induced as a consequence of host oviposition. In this article we show that, in a system characterized by host eggs embedded in the plant tissue, naïve females of the egg parasitoid Anagrus breviphragma Soyka (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) responded in a Y‐tube olfactometer to volatiles from leaves of Carex riparia Curtis (Cyperaceae) containing eggs of one of its hosts, Cicadella viridis (L.) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). The wasp did not respond to host eggs or to clean leaves from non‐infested plants compared with clean air, whereas it showed a strong preference for the olfactometer arm containing volatiles of leaves with embedded host eggs, compared with the arm containing volatiles of leaves from a non‐infested plant or host eggs extracted from the plant. When the eggs were removed from an infested leaf, the parasitoid preference was observed only if eggs were added aside, suggesting a synergistic effect of a local plant synomone and an egg kairomone. The parasitoid also responded to clean leaves from an egg‐infested plant when compared with leaves from a non‐infested plant, indicating a systemic effect of volatile induction.     

Mate finding in the forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani, mediated by volatiles from plants and females

The response of the forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani F. (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae), towards volatiles emitted by different host plants and conspecifics was tested in field experiments during the flight period at dusk. Funnel traps containing artificially damaged leaves from the host plants Carpinus betulus L. and Quercus rubra L., as well as from the non‐host plant Prunus serotina Ehrh. caught significantly more beetles than empty control traps. On the other hand, traps baited with undamaged leaves from Q. rubra did not catch significantly more beetles than empty controls. Leaves from C. betulus damaged by beetle feeding did not attract more beetles than artificially damaged leaves. By use of gas chromatography coupled with electroantennographic detection (GC‐EAD) electrophysiological responses of males and females were shown for 18 typical plant volatiles. A synthetic mixture of selected typical green plant volatiles was also highly attractive in the field. A total of 9982 beetles was caught during the field experiments, among them only 33 females. This suggests that attraction to damaged foliage during flight period at dusk is male‐specific. Field experiments testing the attractiveness of female M. hippocastani towards conspecific males by employing caged beetles and beetle extracts indicated that males of M. hippocastani use a female‐derived sex pheromone for mate location. On wired cages containing either unmated feeding females, or unmated females without access to foliage, or feeding males in combination with extracts from unmated females, significantly more males landed during the flight period than on comparable control cages containing feeding males or male extracts. A possible scenario of mate location in M. hippocastani involving feeding‐induced plant volatiles and a female‐derived sex pheromone is discussed.     

石斛篓象成虫对不同来源气味的行为反应

【目的】研究不同来源气味对石斛篓象Nassophasis sp.成虫嗅觉选择行为的影响,对于发展新型石斛篓象成虫防治技术具有重要意义。【方法】应用陷阱式嗅觉测定仪测试了石斛篓象成虫对同种个体气味、蛹壳气味、成虫粪便、球花石斛Dendrobium thyrsiflorum受害植株气味的嗅觉反应。【结果】雌成虫气味对雄成虫有引诱作用,对雌成虫没有引诱作用;雄虫气味对雌、雄成虫均无引诱效果。雌、雄蛹壳气味对雌、雄成虫均有显著引诱效果。两性成虫聚集时产生的粪便对雌、雄成虫均有显著引诱作用,雌虫或者雄虫单独放置时产生的粪便对雌、雄成虫均无引诱效果。被雌虫为害的球花石斛植株茎干释放的气味仅对雌虫有引诱作用, 而受雄虫为害后的茎干产生的气味仅对雄成虫有引诱作用。【结论】本研究为进一步分离、 鉴定对该虫有引诱作用的活性物质奠定了基础。     

A six-arm olfactometer permitting simultaneous observation of insect attraction and odour trapping

Abstract.  Behavioural assays to study insect attraction to specific odours are tedious, time consuming and often require large numbers of replications. Olfactometer and flight tunnel tests can usually only be conducted with one or two odour sources at a time. Moreover, chemical information on the odour sources has to be obtained in separate analytical studies. An olfactometer was developed in which six odours can be tested simultaneously for their relative attractiveness while during the assays, part of each test odour can be trapped for further analyses. The effectiveness of this six-arm olfactometer was tested by observing the responses of the solitary endoparasitoid Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson) to host-induced odours from young maize plants. For statistical analyses, we used log-linear models were adapted to account for overdispersion and possible positional biases. Female wasps responded extremely well in tests where they were offered a single odour source, as well as in tests with multiple choices. The responses of wasps released in groups were the same as those released individually and it was found that females did not attract or repel each other, but males preferred arms in which females had been released. Dose–response tests with varying numbers of plants or host larvae on plants revealed that the wasps responded in a dose-related manner, thus showing that the system is well suited to measure relative preference. The clear choices of the insects amongst six possibilities provided substantial statistical power. Gas chromatographic analyses of sampled air revealed clean and effective odour trapping, which largely facilitates the comparison of results from behavioural assays with the actual blends of volatiles that were emitted by the various odour sources. Advantages and disadvantages compared to other methods are discussed.     

Induced volatiles in soybean and pigeon pea plants artificially infested with the neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros, and their effect on the egg parasitoid, Telenomus podisi

Herbivory is known to increase the emission of volatiles, which attract natural enemies to herbivore‐damaged plants in laboratory and agricultural systems. We report on signalling through volatiles induced by Euschistus heros (F.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in two legumes that influence the attraction and retention of the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Air‐borne extracts obtained from two host plants of E. heros, soybean, Glycine max, and pigeon pea, Cajanus cajan (Leguminosae), produce a different blend of emitted volatiles when attacked by adult males or females and nymphs of the pest species, compared with the undamaged plants. The same results were obtained when the plants were treated with extracted saliva of E. heros which had been mechanically introduced into the plants. This indicates that some substance in the saliva contributed to the release of the volatiles. Bioassays in a Y‐tube olfactometer with female T. podisi and treated plants confirmed the significant preference of the egg parasitoid for plants attacked by either males, females, or fourth instar nymphs of the pest species. On the other hand, volatile extracts obtained from soybean subjected to the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis, a non‐host species for T. podisi, showed a different blend of volatiles compared to those obtained from plants subjected to E. heros. Additionally, the volatiles obtained from this plant–host complex were not attractive to T. podisi. These results indicate that E. heros causes an increase in the emission of specific plant volatiles, and that the induction is possibly caused by an elicitor present in the pest saliva. The possibility that these plant volatiles play an important role in the attraction and retention of the egg parasitoid T. podisi is discussed.     

Early‐Season Headspace Volatiles from Apple and Their Effect on the Apple Blossom Weevil Anthonomus pomorum

Apple volatiles emitted at early phenological stages are little investigated, although they may influence behavior of early‐season pests. The apple blossom weevil Anthonomus pomorum is a herbivore pest of orchards in Europe. It colonizes apple trees in early season and oviposits into developing flower buds, often leading to economic damage. Using in situ radial diffusive sampling and thermal desorption, followed by GC/MS analysis, headspace volatiles from apple twigs with flower buds at three early phenological tree stages were identified and quantified. The volatile blend consisted of 13 compounds for the first, and increased to 15 compounds for the third phenological stage sampled. These blends included benzenoids, terpenes, and derivatives of fatty acids. A recombined synthetic blend served as the odor source in a still‐air dual‐choice olfactometer bioassay, in which individual male and female weevils were tested. Results from this behavioral test document an attraction of both sexes to odors of their host plant, suggesting that apple volatiles emitted in early season serve as olfactory cues for host location of A. pomorum in the field.     

Olfactory response of Anagrus,nigriventrls (HYM.: Mymaridae): Effects of host plant chemical cues mediated by rearing and oviposition experience

The egg parasitoid Anagrus nigriventris Girault is an important natural enemy of the beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus (Baker) which has a broad host range that includes cultivated sugar beets and the weed, Russian thistle. When parasitoids were reared on leafhopper eggs deposited in sugar beets, females were attracted to sugar beet volatiles and preferred them over a blank control and over Russian thistle volatiles in Y- tube olfactometer tests. No preference was detected for either plant by female wasps that were reared on Russian thistle. Wasps reared on Russian thistle and allowed an oviposition experience on sugar beet showed a strong attraction to sugar beet volatiles; however, wasps reared on sugar beets and allowed oviposition experience on Russian thistle demonstrated no preference between the two plants. The implications of parasitoid response towards plant volatiles and their importance in biological control are discussed.     

Olfactory response of a predatory mirid to herbivore induced plant volatiles: multiple herbivory vs. single herbivory

Plants infested with a single herbivore species can attract natural enemies through the emission of herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). However, under natural conditions plants are often attacked by more than one herbivore species. We investigated the olfactory response of a generalist predators Macrolophus caliginosus to pepper infested with two‐spotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae, or green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, vs. plants infested with both herbivore species in a Y‐tube olfactometer set up. In addition, the constituents of volatile blends from plants exposed to multiple or single herbivory were identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). The mirid bugs showed a stronger response to volatiles emitted from plants simultaneously infested with spider mites and aphids than to those emitted from plants infested by just one herbivore, irrespective of the species. Combined with results from previous studies under similar conditions we infer that this was a reaction to herbivore induced plant volatiles. The GC‐MS analysis showed that single herbivory induced the release of 22 additional compounds as compared with the volatiles emitted from clean plants. Quantitative analyses revealed that the amount of volatile blends emitted from pepper infested by both herbivores was significantly higher than that from pepper infested by a single herbivore. Moreover, two unique substances were tentatively identified (with a probability of 94% and 91%, respectively) in volatiles emitted by multiple herbivory damaged plants: α‐zingiberene and dodecyl acetate.     

二化螟绒茧蜂对二化螟及其寄主植物挥发物的趋性反应

利用Y-型嗅觉仪研究了二化螟绒茧蜂Cotesia chilonis对寄主植物（水稻或茭白）、二化螟Chilo suppressalis幼虫、虫粪及虫害苗挥发物的行为反应。健康植株、二化螟幼虫和虫粪的挥发物对二化螟绒茧蜂具有显著引诱作用。在虫害苗与健康苗挥发物之间,二化螟绒茧蜂显著地偏好虫害苗,但当去除虫害苗中的幼虫和虫粪后,寄生蜂对去虫苗与机械损伤苗的选择无显著差异;在虫害苗与有虫健康苗之间,寄生蜂显著趋向虫害苗,表明虫害苗本身释放的挥发物对二化螟绒茧蜂引诱作用与机械损伤苗无显著差异,但与二化螟幼虫或虫粪挥发物之间可能具有协同增效作用。水稻苗经机械损伤或损伤后以二化螟幼虫唾液处理,其挥发物对二化螟绒茧蜂的引诱作用无显著改变。二化螟绒茧蜂对不同为害程度水稻挥发物的选择无显著差异。二化螟绒茧蜂对两种寄主植物的健康苗、虫害苗、取食两种植物的幼虫及虫粪的挥发物的选择无显著差异。结果表明,二化螟绒茧蜂栖境定位和寄主选择过程中所利用的挥发物主要来自寄主植物、二化螟幼虫和虫粪以及虫害苗与幼虫和虫粪的协同作用。     

黄地老虎幼虫取食诱导的棉花植株挥发物驱避雌蛾产卵

[目的]评价黄地老虎Agrotis segetum幼虫取食危害诱导棉花植株产生的虫害诱导植物挥发物(herbivore-induced plant volatiles,HIPVs)对雌蛾产卵选择的影响,并鉴定HIPVs的主要组分及其功能,以筛选对雌蛾产卵有吸引或驱避作用的活性成分.[方法]利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC...     

Volatiles from host plant brinjal attract the brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer -Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee

Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer- Leucinodes orbonalis Guenee is a major insect pest on brinjal- Solanum melongena worldwide. An effective strategy used in developing pest controlling agents is the synergism between insect pheromones and host plant volatiles, which can increase the attraction of insect pest. The present study was aimed at investigating the chemical constituents and attractant effects of the volatiles extracted from different parts of the host plant brinjal on the behavior of adult L. orbonalis. Bioassay using Y-shaped olfactometer revealed that the one-day old virgin female, gravid female and male insects respond positively to the host plant volatiles extracted from fruits, leaves and shoots but not to that of flowers. It was shown that the gravid females were significantly attracted to all three volatiles (p < 0.05). Bioassay using X-shaped olfactometer identified that all three types of insects highly preferred the volatiles from fruits (p < 0.05). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of volatiles indicated that brinjal plant produces volatile secondary metabolites, which include 2,2′-(Ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy))bis(ethane-2,1-diyl) dibenzoate (12.11%), 3,7-dimethylocta-1,6-dien-3-ol (22.38%), Benzyl alcohol (22.9%) and Benzyl alcohol (27.06%) as major constituents from fruits, shoots, leaves and flowers respectively. Responses of insects to the volatiles from host plant in the absence of visual cues direct us to focus on the importance of host plant volatiles to locate the plant. Results of this study emphasize the major role that host plant volatiles play in the attraction of insect pests towards the plant.