Sensory and behavioral responses of braconid parasitoids to changes in volatile emissions induced by wheat stem sawfly (Hymenoptera: Cephidae) larval feeding in winter wheat and smooth brome.

ABSTRACT: The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, is a major pest of cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and other cereals in North America. The native congeneric parasitoids Bracon cephi (Gahan) and B. lissogaster Muesebeck are important biocontrol agents and play a crucial role in managing wheat stem sawfly outbreaks and damage. Smooth brome grass (Bromus inermis Leyss) has been found to be an effective wheat stem sawfly sink and parasitoid source when grown in areas neighboring wheat fields in Montana. To better understand the ecology of the system, we investigated both the wheat stem sawfly-induced volatile organic compounds produced by smooth brome and winter wheat, and the electrophysiological and behavioral response of B. cephi and B. lissogaster to the collected volatiles via coupl

SUBMITTER: Strand JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11908414 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature