Differential parasitism of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae by the parasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on two host plant species

Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine host selection by Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov when larvae of its host, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), fed on Chinese cabbage, Brassica campestris L. ssp. pekinensis and those fed on common cabbage, Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata were provided simultaneously, and to investigate the roles of plant and host volatiles in mediating host selection. When C. plutellae were provided with equal numbers of host larvae on plants of the two species in one arena, the parasitoid parasitized 4- to 15-fold more host larvae on Chinese cabbage than on common cabbage. This preference changed little with host density. However, an experience of searching coupled with an oviposition in a host larva on a leaf of the less-preferred plant, common cabbage, significantly increased the preference for parasitizing host larvae on this plant and resulted in twice as many host larvae parasitized on this plant than on Chinese cabbage. Dual choice tests with a Y-tube olfactometer showed that plant volatiles from Chinese cabbage were more attractive to female C. plutellae than those from common cabbage when plants of both species were either intact or infested. In parallel to the increased parasitism on common cabbage following experience, oviposition in a host larva on this less-preferred plant significantly increased the response to volatiles emanating from that plant. These results indicate that host plants may strongly influence the foraging behaviour of C. plutellae, but their differential attractiveness to the parasitoid may be altered by experience of the parasitoid.     

Non-host plant extracts reduce oviposition of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and enhance parasitism by its parasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Botanical preparations, usually from non-host plants, can be used to manipulate the behaviour of insect pests and their natural enemies. In this study, the effects of extracts of Chrysanthemum morifolium, a non-host plant of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), on the olfactory and oviposition responses of this phytophagous insect and on levels of parasitism by its specialist parasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) were examined, using Chinese cabbage Brassica campestris L. ssp. pekinensis as the test host plant. Olfactometer tests showed that volatiles of chrysanthemum extract-treated host plants were less attractive to P. xylostella females than those from untreated host plants; and in contrast, volatiles of the chrysanthemum extract-treated host plants were more attractive to females of its parasitoid C. plutellae than those from untreated host plants. Oviposition preference tests showed that P. xylostella females laid only a small proportion of their eggs on chrysanthemum extract-treated host plants, while ovipositing parasitoid females parasitized a much higher proportion of host larvae feeding on the treated host plants than on untreated host plants. These results suggest that certain non-host plant compounds, when applied onto a host plant, may render the plant less attractive to a phytophagous insect but more attractive to its parasitoids. Application of such non-host plant compounds can be explored to develop push-pull systems to reduce oviposition by a pest insect and at the same time enhance parasitism by its parasitoids in crops.     

Hymenopteran parasitoids of diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Ypeunomutidae) in northern Thailand

Larvae of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Ypeunomutidae), cause severe economic damage to cabbage, Brassica oleracea L. variety capitata (Brassicaceae) and related vegetables in Thailand. Overuse of broad-spectrum insecticides for diamondback moth control is a serious problem and has obscured the contributions of indigenous parasitoids. Our objectives were to identify indigenous diamondback moth parasitoids in northern Thailand and to assess their potential for natural control. Six parasitoid species were reared from diamondback moth larvae and pupae collected in 1990 and in 2003-2004. These included the larval parasitoid Cotesia plutellae Kurdjumov (Braconidae), a larval-pupal parasitoid Macromalon orientale Kerrich (Ichneumonidae), and pupal parasitoids Diadromus collaris Gravenhorst (Ichneumonidae) and Brachymeria excarinata Gahan (Chalcididae). Single specimens of Isotima sp. Forster (Ichneumonidae) and Brachymeria lasus Walker (Chalcididae) also were reared from diamondback moth hosts. C. plutellae was the dominant larval parasitoid and was often reared from host larvae collected from fields sprayed regularly with insecticides; parasitism ranged from 14 to 78%. Average parasitism by M. orientale was only 0.5-6%. Parasitism of host pupae by D. collaris ranged from 9 to 31%, whereas B. excarinata pupal parasitism ranged from 9 to 25%. An integrated pest management (IPM) protocol using simple presence-absence sampling for lepidopterous larvae and the exclusive use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) or neem resulted in the highest yields of undamaged cabbage compared with a control or weekly sprays of cypermethrin (local farmer practice). IPM programs focused on conservation of local diamondback moth parasitoids and on greater implementation of biological control will help alleviate growing public concerns regarding the effects of pesticides on vegetable growers and consumers.     

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.     

外源茉莉酸诱导植物反应对菜蛾绒茧蜂寄生选择行为的影响

茉莉酸是植物体内重要的伤信号分子,向植物施用外源茉莉酸后, 可诱导植物产生各种防卫反应, 如挥发物组成发生改变等, 进而影响植食性昆虫及其天敌。该文报道用不同浓度外源茉莉酸处理白菜和甘蓝后,诱导植物反应所产生的挥发物对菜蛾绒茧蜂搜索及寄生选择行为的影响。外源茉莉酸处理白菜和甘蓝后,处理植株的挥发物对菜蛾绒茧蜂的引诱力增强;与在对照植株上相比,该蜂对经茉莉酸处理后白菜植株上的小菜蛾幼虫的寄生数显著要高。表明茉莉酸处理白菜及甘蓝后,植物诱导反应导致其挥发物的作用发生变化,进而可提高该蜂的搜索和寄生效率。     

Impact of Vairimorpha sp. (Microsporidia: Burnellidae) on Trichogramma chilonis (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae), a hymenopteran parasitoid of the cabbage moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera, Yponomeutidae).

A multi-generation mass breeding colony of the cabbage moth, Plutella xylostella, was found to be infected with a microsporidium, Vairimorpha sp., which is passed transovarially between generations. The microsporidian infection had little impact on the fitness of this lepidopteran pest. However, when Trichogramma chilonis parasitized such infected host eggs, the offspring of this parasitoid species suffered from severe deficiencies. Microsporidian spores, ingested by parasitoid larvae together with the host egg nutrients, gave rise to stages which developed in various tissues of the parasitoid, such as the flight muscle and the nervous system. This infection resulted in a significantly increased rate of metamorphosis failure (related to host age) and reduced longevity and reproductive performance of the parasitoids. There are two main consequences arising from our findings if T. chilonis is to be used in an integrated control strategy against P. xylostella: (1) T. chilonis must be raised on Vairimorpha-free host eggs to receive viable and efficaceous parasitoids for release and (2) if natural populations of the cabbage moth in cruciferous crops are infected with Vairimorpha to a significant extent, the parasitoid must be released repeatedly within infested crop areas.     

Behavioural responses of diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) to extracts derived from Melia azedarach and Azadirachta indica

The impact of three different doses of botanical insecticide derived from the syringa tree, Melia azedarach and the neem tree, Azadirachta indica was tested on the behaviour of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus). Both botanical insecticides had a significant impact on larval behaviour. At higher doses the extracts showed feeding deterrent activity, with larvae preferring the untreated sides of cabbage leaves and consuming less of the treated half of cabbage leaves. The botanical insecticides had less of an effect on the oviposition behaviour of P. xylostella moths. In laboratory and glasshouse trials, significantly fewer eggs were oviposited on the plants that had been treated with syringa extracts. Therefore, the syringa extracts appear to have a repellent effect. In contrast, when exposed to the neem extracts the moths did not discriminate between control plants and treated plants. Behavioural observation indicated that, despite the lower number of eggs oviposited on cabbage treated with syringa extracts, the moths chose cabbage treated with the highest dose of syringa more often than they chose control cabbage plants. Similar observations were found in cabbage plants treated with neem, moths chose the medium dose more often than they chose the control. Oviposition and feeding deterrent properties are important factors in pest control, and results from this study indicate that botanical insecticides have the potential to be incorporated into control programmes for P. xylostella in South Africa.     

半闭弯尾姬蜂寄主搜索中的学习行为

研究了半闭弯尾姬蜂寄主搜索过程中的学习行为。结果表明,成虫期之前的饲养寄主所取食的寄主植物对成蜂行为没有影响,而雌蜂早期的短暂经历可对其随后的行为反应产生显著影响,从而对已经历的植物气味表现出显著的嗜好,但这种通过学习所表现出的嗜好又可因新的经历而改变。雌成蜂不仅能对其所经历的虫伤寄主植物释放的信息化合物进行学习,而且对其所经历的寄主幼虫的信息化合物也能进行学习。     

Time allocation of a parasitoid foraging in heterogeneous vegetation: implications for host-parasitoid interactions

1. Changing plant composition in a community can have profound consequences for herbivore and parasitoid population dynamics. To understand such effects, studies are needed that unravel the underlying behavioural decisions determining the responses of parasitoids to complex habitats. 2. The searching behaviour of the parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum was followed in environments with different plant species composition. In the middle of these environments, two Brassica oleracea plants infested by the host Plutella xylostella were placed. The control set-up contained B. oleracea plants only. In the more complex set-ups, B. oleracea plants were interspersed by either Sinapis alba or Hordeum vulgare. 3. Parasitoids did not find the first host-infested plant with the same speed in the different environments. Sinapis alba plants were preferentially searched by parasitoids, resulting in fewer initial host encounters, possibly creating a dynamic enemy-free space for the host on adjacent B. oleracea plants. In set-ups with H. vulgare, also, fewer initial host encounters were found, but in this case plant structure was more likely than infochemicals to interfere with the searching behaviour of parasitoids. 4. On discovering a host-infested plant, parasitoids located the second host-infested plant with equal speed, demonstrating the effect of experience on time allocation. Further encounters with host-infested plants that had already been visited decreased residence times and increased the tendency to leave the environment. 5. Due to the intensive search of S. alba plants, hosts were encountered at lower rates here than in the other set-ups. However, because parasitoids left the set-up with S. alba last, the same number of hosts were encountered as in the other treatments. 6. Plant composition of a community influences the distribution of parasitoid attacks via its effects on arrival and leaving tendencies. Foraging experiences can reduce or increase the importance of enemy-free space for hosts on less attractive plants.     

Effects of specialist parasitoids on oviposition preference of phytophagous insects: encounter–dilution effects in a tritrophic interaction

Abstract.  1. Host plant preferences of the female diamondback moth Plutella xylostella were studied.
2. Female moths preferred conspecific-damaged cabbage plants over undamaged cabbage plants. The performance of P. xylostella larvae on conspecific-infested plants did not differ significantly from that of larvae on undamaged plants.
3.  Cotesia plutellae , the specialist parasitoid wasp of P. xylostella larvae, displayed equal preference for plants with differing levels of host-larvae damage, and the wasp attacked only one or two hosts on average before leaving an infested plant, irrespective of the number of hosts on the plant. It is hypothesised that the oviposition preferences of P. xylostella females for host plants already damaged by conspecific larvae demonstrate an encounter–dilution effect against C. plutellae .     

Evaluating trap crops for diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Potential trap crops for the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), were evaluated through a series of ovipositional preference and larval survival experiments in outdoor screenhouses in 2002 and 2003. Hosts examined as trap crops were glossy and waxy collards, Brassica oleracea L. variety acephala; Indian mustard, Brassica juncea (L.) Czern; and yellow rocket, Barbarea vulgaris (R. Br.) variety arcuata. More eggs were laid on the potential trap crops, with the exception of waxy collards, than on cabbage. When P. xylostella was offered multiple hosts at the same time, numbers of eggs laid on glossy collards, Indian mustard, and yellow rocket were 3, 18, and 12 times greater than on cabbage, respectively. Similarly, when P. xylostella was offered a single trap crop host and cabbage, numbers of eggs laid on glossy collards, Indian mustard, and yellow rocket were 300, 19, and 110 times greater than on cabbage, respectively. Our studies suggest differences in oviposition between the potential trap crops and cabbage were likely due to host volatiles, leaf morphology and color, or a combination of these factors, rather than to total leaf areas, leaf shape, or plant architecture. Two-choice tests with a Y-tube olfactometer indicated that plant volatiles were major factors in P. xylostella host preference. The percentage larval survival from egg to pupation was 22.2% on cabbage, 18.9% on waxy collards, and 24.4% on Indian mustard, whereas survival was significantly lower on glossy collards (6.7%) and yellow rocket (0%). Based on our tests, it seems that yellow rocket may be the best candidate for use as a trap crop for P. xylostella because it is highly attractive for oviposition, but larvae do not survive on it.     

Interspecific competition between Diadegma semiclausum Hellen and Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren), parasitoids of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L), feeding on a new host plant

Interspecific competition between an introduced parasitoid species aimed at controlling a herbivorous pest species and a native parasitoid parasitising the same host may influence the success of classical biological control programmes. In Kenya, interspecific competition between an introduced and a local parasitoid on two diamondback moth populations (DBM, Plutella xylostella) was investigated on two different host plants. We tested simultaneous and delayed competition of the local parasitoid Diadegma mollipla Holmgren and its exotic congenus D. semiclausum Hellen on a newly aquired DBM host plant (snowpea) in the laboratory. Under simultaneous competition, D. mollipla produced more progeny than D. semiclausum on snowpea. A head start of D. Mollipla, of four and eight hours before its congenus was introduced, resulted in a similar number of progeny of both species. In delayed competition (time intervals of 24 h, 48 h and 72 h), progeny production was similar for both parasitoids when the time interval was 24 h, irrespective of which species parasitized first. More progeny was produced by the species which attacked first, when the time interval was greater than 24 h, although it was only significant at 72 h. Competitive abilites of both parasitoids on the new host plant differed largely between laboratory and semi-field conditions. The influence of two host plants (snowpea and cabbage) on competition was studied in the greenhouse with different host and parasitoid densities. Parasitism levels of D. semiclausum were significantly higher than those of D. mollipla, regardless of host plant, host and parasitoid densities, but progeny production of D. mollipla on snowpea was still slightly higher than on cabbage. As compared to the confinement of parasitoids and larvae to small containers, D. mollipla parasitized very few larvae in the cages. Competitive ability of the two parasitoid species tested was influenced both by the density of the searching females and by parameters related to either the host plant and/or the herbivorous hosts.     

亚麻荠对小菜蛾幼虫取食和成虫行为反应的影响

亚麻荠是一种很少有害虫危害的油料作物。用室内生测和Y 型嗅觉仪研究了亚麻荠对小菜蛾Plutella xylostella幼虫取食和成虫行 为反应的影响。以甘蓝作对照,用亚麻荠叶片喂养的小菜蛾初孵幼虫3天后校正死亡率为79 .2%,显示了较强的致死作用;喂养小菜蛾3龄幼虫至化蛹,其存活率、化蛹率、蛹重及成 虫寿命都显著降低,表明亚麻荠对小菜蛾幼虫的生长发育有不利影响。在幼虫的取食选择实 验中,有甘蓝叶供选择时,小菜蛾幼虫不取食亚麻荠;在无可选择的情况下,小菜蛾幼虫也 取 食亚麻荠叶片,但取食量很小,与取食甘蓝叶的量相比,差异极显著。行为反应测试表明, 小菜蛾成虫对甘蓝和亚麻荠植株的挥发物都有明显的趋性反应,与对照（净化空气）相比, 差异极显著,而在甘蓝和亚麻荠之间无选择性。说明小菜蛾成虫对亚麻荠植株的挥发物具有 较强的定向反应。     

小菜蛾咬食后青菜释放的挥发性物质成分和含量的变化

在虫害条件下,青菜释放出的挥发性化学物质成分较多．其中饱和烷烃类物质占多数,其次是芳烃类物质,其它为少量的不饱和烷烃、醛、醇、酮、酸和杂环化合物等．经小菜蛾取食危害的青菜释放的挥发性物质的量比未受损伤的青菜高3倍,且挥发性物质种类也多些．前者的挥发性物质多为分子量较小的物质,后者的挥发性物质多为分子量较大的物质．     

Consequences of constitutive and induced variation in the host's food plant quality for parasitoid larval development

Constitutive and induced changes in plant quality impact higher trophic levels, such as the development of parasitoids, in different ways. An efficient way to study how plant quality affects parasitoids is to examine how the parasitoid larva is integrated within the host during the growth process. In two experiments, we investigated the effects of varying nutritional quality of Brassica oleracea on parasitoid larval development inside the host, the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella). First, we compared larval growth of the specialist Diadegma semiclausum and the generalist Diadegma fenestrale, when the host was feeding on Brussels sprout plants that were either undamaged or were previously induced by caterpillar damage. Larvae of the generalist D. fenestrale showed lower growth rates than larvae of the specialist D. semiclausum, and this difference was more pronounced on herbivore-induced plants, suggesting differences in host-use efficiency between parasitoid species. The growth of D. semiclausum larvae was also analyzed in relation to herbivore induction on Brussels sprouts and on a wild B. oleracea strain. Parasitoid growth was more depressed on induced than on undamaged control plants, and more on wild cabbage than on Brussels sprouts, which was largely explained by differences in host mass. The effects of induction of wild Brassica on parasitoid development were pronounced early on, but as P. xylostella feeding began inducing the previously undamaged control plants, the effect of induction disappeared, revealing a temporal component of plant-parasitoid interactions. This study demonstrates how insights into the physiological aspects of host-parasitoid interactions can improve our understanding of the effects of plant-related traits on parasitoid wasps.     

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.     

Biological and Integrated Control of Plutella xylostella (Lep., Yponomeutidae) and Crocidolomia pavonana (Lep., Pyralidae) in Brassica Crops in Papua New Guinea

The major constraint to the production of good quality cabbage in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is posed by a complex of insect pests which includes the Diamondback Moth Plutella xylostella (L.) as the most prominent species. In order to evaluate the prospects of a classical control approach economically important major pests and their natural enemies were surveyed in three cabbage growing areas with distinct climatic regimes at low-, mid- and high-elevation. In the PNG highlands (Goroka and Tambul area, Western Highlands Province) the release and successful establishment of the P. xylostella -specific parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum (Hellen) reduced crop losses remarkably since 1995. Favourable circumstances, such as continuous brassica cultivation and low status of associated lepidopteran pests, particularly at Tambul (2400 m above sea level) with an almost temperate climate, were supportive for this approach. In the arid PNG lowlands (Laloki area, Central Province) the introduced P.xylostella -parasitoid Cotesia plutellae (Kurdjumov) exerted 80% parasitism in an experimental site, although a lasting establishment was not achieved in that location. Among several indigenous P. xylostella parasitoids Brachymeria phya (Walker) was a ubiquitous species but did not reduce the pest status of its host. Natural enemies of associated lepidoptera such as Crocidolomia pavonana (Zeller), Spodoptera litura (F.), Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) and Hellula undalis (F.) were economically insignificant. Thus, insecticidal control, preferably selective, was still a requirement. In comparison to Bacillus thuringiensis -products (Delfin ® and Thuricide ® ) and the synthetic insect growth regulator Chlorfluazuron (Atabron ® ), best results were achieved in field trials with the commercial neem formulation NeemAzal ® ( Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) and an aqueous neem seed kernel extract from seeds of PNG grown trees. Besides its high efficacy against lepidopterous pests, neem also controlled the false mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.), being of economic importance in the arid PNG lowlands. The prospects of integrating C. plutellae into a reduced insecticide spraying program as well as alternative cultural control measures are discussed.     

Response of an aphid parasitoid, Aphelinus asychis to its host, plant, host-plant complex, and to malathion

Aphelinus asychis (Walker) can be valuable as a biocontrol agent of the aphid, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), a major pest on grain crops in the United States. This study reports the wind tunnel, and olfactometric responses of this parasitoid to the host (aphid), plant (sorghum), and host-plant complex (aphid-infested sorghum). In addition, the parasitoids' response to malathion-treated plants is also presented. The goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that volatiles associated with the host attract natural enemies, as reported in cases of many hymenopterous parasitoids, and also to learn about the effects of insecticides on these parasitoids. In wind tunnel studies, these parasitoids moved upwind in the direction of the host-infested plant. There was no direct flight observed, however, these parasitoids were observed to hop and jump, and sometimes walk to their host. In the olfactometer experiments, we found that A. asychis is attracted to host-plant complex. The parasitoids' response to malathion in the olfactometer suggested that a malathion formulation when applied to plants can lure these beneficials, thus providing new insight into the ongoing task of integrating chemical and biological control of insect pests.     

Effects of learning experience on behaviour of the generalist parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae to novel hosts

Massicus raddei Blessig (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), also referred to as the oak long‐horned beetle (OLB), is a non‐natural host for the generalist parasitoid Sclerodermus pupariae Yang et Yao (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae). To determine whether this generalist parasitoid might be a suitable agent for the control of OLB, the adaptive learning experience of adult female parasitoids to OLB larvae was investigated in the laboratory. A Y‐tube olfactometer bioassay was used to examine the effects of adaptive learning experience on the foraging ability of parasitoids for OLB larvae. The results indicated that parasitoids were significantly attracted by the volatiles of ash bark, Fraxinus velutina, with emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) larvae and larval frass, after exposure to ash bark mixed with EAB larval frass (learning condition A). In contrast, after exposure to oak bark, Quercus liaotungensis, mixed with OLB larval frass (learning condition C), parasitoids showed significant preference for the volatiles of oak bark with OLB larvae and larval frass. On the basis of the results of no‐choice tests, we found that parasitoids exposed to learning condition C had greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than those exposed to learning condition A or no experience. Furthermore, parasitoids fed on OLB larvae in learning condition C had significantly greater paralysis efficiency and higher OLB larvae parasitism rates than other parasitoids tested. Parasitoids fed on EAB larvae in learning condition A had the lowest paralysis efficiency and OLB larvae parasitism rates among the parasitoids tested. These findings suggested that adaptive learning significantly enhanced the ability of a generalist parasitoid to utilize a novel host. This may provide a new approach to controlling non‐natural hosts using generalist parasitoids.     

Laboratory evaluations of a wild crucifer Barbarea vulgaris as a management tool for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

The term 'dead-end trap cropping' has recently been proposed to identify a plant that is highly attractive for oviposition by an insect pest, but on which offspring of the pest cannot survive. The potential of the wild crucifer Barbarea vulgaris R. Br. to allure and serve as a dead-end trap crop for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.), an important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, was examined in laboratory experiments. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris, and Chinese cabbage Brassica campestris (L.), in one arena, adult moths laid 2.5-6.8 times more eggs on the former than on the latter. When P. xylostella adults were provided with a dual-choice of plants of B. vulgaris and common cabbage Brassica oleracea L., adult moths laid virtually all their eggs on the former and ignored the latter. Nearly all P. xylostella eggs laid on the three species of plants hatched successfully, but nearly all individuals on plants of B. vulgaris died as neonates or early instar larvae, while 87-100% of the larvae on Chinese cabbage and common cabbage survived to pupation. Dual choice tests with a Y-tube olfactometer showed that volatiles from B. vulgaris were much more attractive to P. xylostella adults than those from common cabbage. The results demonstrate that B. vulgaris has a great potential as a dead-end trap crop for improving management of P. xylostella. Factors that may influence the feasibility of using B. vulgaris as a trap crop in the field are discussed, and ways to utilize this plant are proposed.