title: Innate positive chemotaxis to pollen from crops and banker plants in predaceous biological control agents: towards new field lures?
abstract: Predator-prey interactions form the core of biological control of arthropod pests. Which tools can be used to monitor and collect carnivorous arthropods in natural habitats and targeted crops? Eco-friendly and effective field lures are urgently needed. In this research, we carried out olfactometer experiments assess innate positive chemotaxis to pollen of seven crop and banker plant by two important predatory biological control agents: the coccinellid Propylea japonica (Thunberg) and the anthocorid Orius sauteri (Poppius). We compared the attractiveness of pollens from crops and banker plants to that of common prey homogenates (aphids and thrips, respectively). Attractiveness of the tested odor sources was checked via field trapping experiments conducted in organic apple orchards and by release-recapture assays in organic greenhouse tomato crops. Maize and canola pollen were attractive to both P. japonica and O. sauteri, in laboratory and field assays. P. japonica was highly attracted by balm mint pollen, whereas O. sauteri was attracted by alfalfa pollen. Our results encourage the use of pollen from crops and banker plants as low-cost and eco-friendly attractors to enhance the monitoring and attraction of arthropod predators in biological control programs.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China [2] Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), UMR1355-ISA, 06903 Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Desneux
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Benelli
authors.affiliation: 1] Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China [2] Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xinhai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Xiwu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China.
authors.forename: Su
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids; D061046:Biological Control Agents; D002633:Chemotaxis; D002681:China; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D000069599:Crop Production / Q000379:methods*; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D005260:Female; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum; D008297:Male; D027845:Malus; D000455:Medicago sativa; D064367:Olfactometry / Q000379:methods; D011058:Pollen; D061149:Thysanoptera; D003313:Zea mays
chemical_list: D061046:Biological Control Agents