title: Insect host location: a volatile situation.
abstract: Locating a host plant is crucial for a phytophagous (herbivorous) insect to fulfill its nutritional requirements and to find suitable oviposition sites. Insects can locate their hosts even though the host plants are often hidden among an array of other plants. Plant volatiles play an important role in this host-location process. The recognition of a host plant by these olfactory signals could occur by using either species-specific compounds or specific ratios of ubiquitous compounds. Currently, most studies favor the second scenario, with strong evidence that plant discrimination is due to central processing of olfactory signals by the insect, rather than their initial detection. Furthermore, paired or clustered olfactory receptor neurons might enable fine-scale spatio-temporal resolution of the complex signals encountered when ubiquitous compounds are used.
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, UK AL5 2JQ.
authors.forename: Toby J A
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.forename: Lester J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wadhams
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Woodcock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D009822:Oils, Volatile