Screening and field evaluation of synthetic plant volatiles as attractants for Anagrus nilaparvatae Pang et Wang, an egg parasitoid of rice planthoppers

Authors 汪鹏; 娄永根

Journal Chinese Journal of Applied Entomology , 2013,2:50

Abstract Natural enemies of herbivores can effectively locate their hosts or prey by perceiving herbivore-induced plant volatiles. In order to develop attractants for Anagrus nilaparvatae Pang et Wang, an egg parasitoid of rice planthoppers, we tested the attractiveness of synthetic rice volatiles induced by the rice brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) to the parasitoid in both laboratory and field. In the laboratory, using a Y-tube olfactometer, we found that five compounds(Z-3-hexenyl acetate, 1-penten-3-ol, Z-3-hexenal, linalool and MeSA) attract the parasitoid. Moreover, A. nilapareatae was strongly attracted by three mixtures, one of MeSA plus Z-3-hexenal, one containing Z-3-hexenal, Z-3-hexenyl acetate and linalool, and one containing MeSA, Z-3-hexenal, Z-3-hexenyl acetate and linalool. Field experiments demonstrated that the parasitism of BPH eggs by the parasitoid was significantly increased on plants that received a septa containing one of the 3 chemicals (Z-3-hexenal, Z-3-hexenyl acetate, linalool) or the mixture containing MeSA, Z-3-hexenal, Z-3-hexenyl acetate and linalool. The findings are of significance for improving the biological control of N. lugens in the future.