There is a considerable interest in trying to understand how aphids find their host plants because they are a major cause of economic losses in agricultural and horticultural production systems. Indeed, the specific behavioural sequences during host finding by aphids are one of the main reasons for their prominent role as vectors of plant pathogenic viruses. This paper reviews the visual and olfactory stimuli involved in host-finding behaviour of aphids, both basic and applied aspects are covered. Although controlling aphids by manipulation of visual and olfactory stimuli involved in host finding and host selection can be highly successful, as shown by research, most of these measures can still be further optimised and adoption in practice is currently limited. Research therefore needs to address some critical open questions, including (a) the effects of visual contrasts on aphid behaviour; (b) the specific responses of aphids to ultraviolet (UV) light during different stages in host finding; (c) the quantification of behavioural sequences in the field and (d) the response of aphid behaviour to plant diversity at varying spatial scales; further, (e) a much more comprehensive coverage of aphid taxa and aphid ecological groups is needed in host-finding related research to uncover ecological principles underlying this critical behaviour.

How aphids find their host plants, and how they don't

Monoterpenoid biosynthesis in glandular trichomes of labiate plants

The host utilization process of insect parasitoids can be described by three stages of (1)habitatlocation, (2)host-location, and (3)host-acceptance andoviposition. There are 19 systems in which chemicals used inhabitat-location have been identified, 12 systems in which chemical cues leading tohost-location have been identified, and 16 systems in which chemicals elicitinghost-acceptance andoviposition have been identified. Both the chemical class and the source of the infochemical change with the stage of the host utilization process. Semiochemicals identified in thehabitatlocation stage were predominantly aldehydes, alcohols, sulfur-containing compounds, esters and terpenes, and were equally likely to be from the host-plant of the host, or from the host itself. Semiochemicals identified in thehost-location stage were sugars, alkanes, terpenes and heterocyclic aromatic compounds and 3/4 of them were host-produced cues. In thehost-acceptance andoviposition stage the identified semiochemicals were all produced by the host and were proteins, amino acids, triglycerides and salts. The importance of recognizing specific cues involved in host utilization by parasitoids is discussed, and suggestions for future research are made.

A survey of identified kairomones and synomones used by insect parasitoids to locate and accept their hosts

Interactions between two aphid natural enemies, the entomopathogenic fungus Erynia neoaphidis Remaudiere & Hennebert (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) and the predatory beetle Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Mating in the aphid parasitoid,Aphidius nigripes, is mediated by a female sex pheromone that stimulates both upwind flight and courtship behavior by males. There is no evidence of any overt behavior associated with the release of the pheromone, but bioassay results, using female extracts, suggest that the pheromone is produced in the abdomen, although it may be actively released from the entire body surface. Age does not appear to have a major influence on either pheromone production by the female or on male responsiveness. However, field data suggest the presence of a strong diel periodicity in the emission of and/or receptivity to the pheromone. Laboratory bioassay results indicated diel changes in the male response but more refined techniques are needed to determine if such periodicity exists in pheromone production by females. Following mating, female pheromone production is significantly reduced. The potential use of the parasitoid sex pheromone in integrated management of aphids is discussed.

Pheromone-mediated mating in the aphid parasitoid,Aphidius nigripes (hymenoptera: Aphididae)

Females of the aphid parasitoid Praon volucre were attracted to lures containing synthetic aphid sex pheromone components, particularly (+)-(4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone, when these were placed on water traps in cereal fields in autumn. Trap catches were greatest at a site in S.W.England and fewest at sites in northern England 'and northern Germany, presumably due to climatic differences. Responses to the pheromones were not detected for any other cereal aphid parasitoids in the field trials, although Aphidius rhopalosiphi appears to possess olfactory receptors for (+)-(4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactone. A potential strategy for the use of aphid sex pheromone lures to manipulate aphid parasitoids in the field, in order to enhance their impact on aphid populations, is outlined.

Responses of the parasitoid Praon volucre (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to aphid sex pheromone lures in cereal fields in autumn: Implications for parasitoid manipulation

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Responses of the parasitoid Praon volucre (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to aphid sex pheromone lures in cereal fields in autumn: Implications for parasitoid manipulation