Olive fruit volatiles route intraspecific interactions and chemotaxis in Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) females.

ABSTRACT: Plant nutritional quality and chemical characteristics may affect the fitness of phytophagous insects. Here, the olfactory preferences of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) females toward olives with different maturation and infestation status were evaluated in three cultivars: Ottobratica, Roggianella and Sinopolese. Volatile profiles from olives were identified by SPME/GC-MS. Choice tests were performed to determine the responses of B. oleae adult females toward fruits and pure chemicals linked to infestation degree. Cultivar was the main source of variability explaining the differences recorded in volatile emissions. Moreover, three VOCs [β-myrcene, limonene and (E)-β-ocimene] were associated to infestation status across all olive varieties. In choice-tests, B. oleae females always preferred the

SUBMITTER: Giunti G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6997409 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature