Baculovirus-Induced Climbing Behavior Favors Intraspecific Necrophagy and Efficient Disease Transmission in Spodoptera exigua.

ABSTRACT: Shortly prior to death, many species of Lepidoptera infected with nucleopolyhedrovirus climb upwards on the host plant. This results in improved dissemination of viral occlusion bodies over plant foliage and an increased probability of transmission to healthy conspecific larvae. Following applications of Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus for control of Spodoptera exigua on greenhouse-grown sweet pepper crops, necrophagy was observed by healthy S. exigua larvae that fed on virus-killed conspecifics. We examined whether this risky behavior was induced by olfactory or phagostimulant compounds associated with infected cadavers. Laboratory choice tests and olfactometer studies, involving infected and non-infected cadavers placed on spinach leaf discs, revealed no evidence for grea

SUBMITTER: Rebolledo D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4581871 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature