Aphid Honeydew Quality as a Food Source for Parasitoids Is Maintained in Bt Cotton

Hagenbucher, Steffen; Wäckers, Félix; Romeis, Jörg

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107806

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Similarly to the results non-Bt maize plants results, the pre-infestation of Bt maize plants by T. urticae did not resulted in significant reductions of the mite survival and reproductive abilities. Although not directly addressed here, other investigations (HAGENBUCHER et al, 2014) have shown that Bt and non-Bt cotton plants did not differ in terpenoid levels when they were previously subjected to jasmonate treatments.…”

Section: Contentsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Direct defense elicited by Tetranychus urticae koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Bt maize plants

Paulo¹,

Fadini²,

Marinho³

et al. 2019

Biosci. J.

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Direct and indirect induced defense mechanisms against herbivores can be manifested in maize (Zea mays L.) plants. Furthermore, there are constitutive defenses in which plants continuously express resistance traces. In recent decades has increased the production of transgenic maize plants that constitutively express proteins with insecticide action (Bt maize). The increase of the use of transgenic maize cultivars with the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene demand studies that evaluate the impacts caused by this technology on plant defense mechanisms and their impact on non-targeted organisms, as the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae). We tested the hypothesis that Bt maize plants (expressing Cry1F protein) would be capable of inducing direct defenses to T. urticae after being attacked by these mites. Thus, we used plants of a commercial maize hybrid (30F35 Hx-expressing Cry1F protein) and plants of its respective non-Bt isogenic line (control). We compared the survival and reproductive performances of T. urticae on plants of both lines that were previously infested with conspecifics and on plants that did not suffer pre-infestations. The previous infestation of maize plants by T. urticae did not impacted the survival and reproductive abilities of adult and immature forms of the conspecific in both genotypes. These results suggest that, Bt maize expressing the Cry1F insecticidal protein, does not interfere in the induction of direct defense by the T. urticae when compared with conventional maize plants.

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Section: Contentsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Direct defense elicited by Tetranychus urticae koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Bt maize plants

Paulo¹,

Fadini²,

Marinho³

et al. 2019

Biosci. J.

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“…It was reported that honeydew volatiles are important kairomones for parasitoids and predators, and these volatiles can improve the efficacy of natural enemies (Almohamad et al, 2009;Leroy et al, 2011). Many studies have indicated that the composition of aphid honeydew obviously influences the performance of aphid enemies (Hogervorst et al, 2007;Hagenbucher et al, 2014;Tena et al, 2016;Zhou et al, 2016;Benelli et al, 2017). However, relatively few studies have evaluated the quantitative effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant–hemipteran association decreases parasitism of Phenacoccus solenopsis by endoparasitoid Aenasius bambawalei

et al. 2019

Ecological Entomology

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1. Mutualism between ants and honeydew‐excreting hemipterans is ubiquitous in the ecosystem. It is widely accepted that ant tending facilitates the colony growth of hemipterans by protecting them from predators and parasitoids. However, few studies have explored how ant tending helps defend against natural enemies. 2. Ghost ant Tapinoma melanocephalum and the invasive mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis have a close mutual relationship. Previous studies have shown that ghost ant tending can definitely reduce parasitism and visit frequency of Aenasius bambawalei, the dominant endoparasitoid of P. solenopsis. However, the ghost ant workers seldom attack the parasitoids. It is still unclear how the ghost ant adversely affects parasitoids. This study explored the mechanism underlying the impacts of ants on natural enemies of the mealybugs. 3. Honeydew produced by P. solenopsis was an attractant to A. bambawalei. Parasitoids exhibited less searching activity, shorter longevity and lower parasitism when supplied with less honeydew. Aenasius bambawalei showed significant avoidance of pygidial gland secretions and visual cues of ghost ants. Parasitism in plants treated with 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one, actinidine, and gland extracts was significantly lower than that in plants treated only with solvents (paraffin oil or double‐distilled water). 4. It is concluded that honeydew consumption by ghost ants could negatively influence the performance of parasitoids. The pygidial gland secretions and visual cues of ghost ants also significantly inhibit the parasitism. These results may contribute to a better understanding of the regulation mechanism in ant–hemipteran–enemy interactions.

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“…In addition to feeding on host hemolymph, parasitoid females require sugar food sources such as floral nectar and/or honeydew in order to sustain biological traits linked to actual parasitoid fitness (Jervis et al 2001;Wäckers et al 2008;Benelli et al 2017). Honeydew consumption has been shown to increase parasitoid longevity (Hogervorst et al 2007;Hagenbucher et al 2014;Tena et al 2018) and may be involved in parasitoid performance, e.g., by increasing offspring production (Lahiri et al 2017;Dong et al 2018;Picciau et al 2019); this has notably been reported for N. artynes feeding on floral nectar (Balzan and Wäckers 2013) as well as for N. tutae feeding on whitefly honeydew (Dong et al 2018). We demonstrate further that tomato aphid honeydew enhances N. tutae adult longevity under laboratory conditions (Fig.…”

Section: Impact Of Honeydewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of a shared sugar food source on biological control of Tuta absoluta by the parasitoid Necremnus tutae

et al. 2019

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Honeydew is a sugar-rich food source produced by sap-feeding insects, notably by major pests such as aphids and whiteflies. It is an important alternative food source for the adult stage of various key natural enemies (e.g., parasitoids), but it may be used also as food by agricultural pests. Necremnus tutae is an idiobiont parasitoid, and it is the most abundant larval parasitoid associated with the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, in recently invaded European areas. The impact of N. tutae on T. absoluta populations was evaluated under greenhouse conditions with and without the presence of a honeydew producer, the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae. In addition, laboratory experiments were performed to evaluate the longevity of N. tutae and T. absoluta adults when fed with water, honey or honeydew produced by the aphid. In the greenhouse, N. tutae effectively reduced T. absoluta population by the end of the experiment, and this independently of the presence of the aphid; still the presence of M. euphorbiae led to delayed and reduced T. absoluta population peak when controlled by the parasitoid (there was a fourfold increase in parasitoid density in presence of aphid). The longevity of both N. tutae and T. absoluta females increased in the presence of honeydew (when compared to water only) under laboratory conditions; it hinted that honeydew could be used by an herbivore as T. absoluta. The interactions between the two phytophagous species showed contrasting effects, and this mostly independently of parasitoid presence. Tuta absoluta had no impact on aphid population dynamics. By contrast, the production of T. absoluta larvae was higher in the first part of the experiment as the adults lived longer (feeding on aphid honeydew) and produced more larvae. In the second part of the experiment, there were fewer T. absoluta larvae in the presence of the aphid, likely owing to resource competition and/or negative plant-mediated indirect interactions. We demonstrated that honeydew producers could impact parasitoid-host population dynamics both through direct and indirect interactions and that potential positive effects of a sugar food source toward a pest can be nullified in the long term by other negative effects occurring simultaneously.

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Aphid Honeydew Quality as a Food Source for Parasitoids Is Maintained in Bt Cotton

Cited by 20 publications

References 49 publications

Direct defense elicited by Tetranychus urticae koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Bt maize plants

Direct defense elicited by Tetranychus urticae koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Bt maize plants

Ant–hemipteran association decreases parasitism of Phenacoccus solenopsis by endoparasitoid Aenasius bambawalei

Impact of a shared sugar food source on biological control of Tuta absoluta by the parasitoid Necremnus tutae

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