Differences in the Olfactory Sensitivity of Ceratitis capitata to Headspace of Some Host Plants in Relation to Sex, Mating Condition and Population

Abstract

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Wied., is among the most serious pests in horticulture worldwide, due to its high reproductive potential, difficulty of control and broad polyphagy. The aim of this study was to measure—by means of the electroantennogram recordings— the antennal olfactory sensitivity of virgin, mated, male, female, lab-reared and wild C. capitata following stimulation with fruit and leaf headspace of some host-plants: clementine, orange, prickly pear, lemon and apple. The results show that: (a) lab-reared mated males are more sensitive to host-plant fruit and leaf headspace than females, while the opposite was true for wild insects; (b) antennae of wild virgin males were more sensitive than the mated ones, while no difference was observed among lab-reared medflies; (c) lab-reared virgin females were more sensitive than mated ones, while few differences were found within wild medflies; (d) in mated insects, lab-reared males were more sensitive to both host-plant fruits and leaves than the wild ones, while the opposite was found for females. Taken together, these results show that the olfactory sensitivity to host-plant odors differs between virgin and mated and lab-reared and wild flies.

Olfactory Function in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Is Associated with Their Body Mass Index and Polymorphism in the Odor Binding-Protein (OBPIIa) Gene

“…The sense of smell plays a critical role in various aspects of human life, and its important functions can be grouped into three broad categories: avoidance of environmental hazards, social communication and ingestive behavior [ 2 ]. Olfaction draws attention to warning signs, such as predators, fire, smoke, toxic substances or poisons and spoiled food [ 3 , 4 ]; it impacts reproductive behavior [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]; it affects interpersonal communication, such as between a mother and her baby [ 10 ]; it contributes to the localization, choice and intake of food, and it modulates appetite [ 2 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

An Overview of “Insect Biodiversity”

“…In particular, insects show a great peripheral plasticity that allows them to adapt to the environment in which they live [24]. In this Special Issue, Sollai et al [25] show that sex, physiological state, and experience can modulate the olfactory sensitivity of the medfly Ceratitis capitata, a highly invasive species of economic interest. The results show that: (a) lab-reared mated males are more sensitive to host plant headspace than females, while the opposite is true for wild insects; (b) wild virgin males are more sensitive than mated ones, while no difference was observed among lab-reared medflies; (c) lab-reared virgin females are more sensitive than mated ones, while few differences were found within wild medflies; (d) lab-reared mated males are more sensitive to host plant extracts than wild ones, while the opposite was found for females.…”