Oviposition deterring infochemicals in ladybirds: the role of phylogeny

Abstract

Faced with an ephemeral prey, aphidophagous ladybirds rely on the hydrocarbons present in the tracks of their larvae to choose an unoccupied patch for egg laying. Although both conspecific and heterospecific larval tracks might deter females from oviposition, the response to the later is often less striking. Several explanations have been suggested to account for this. In this paper we tested the phylogeny hypothesis, which predicts that the chemical composition of the tracks of closely related species of ladybirds will be more similar to one another than to those of more distantly related species. Qualitative and quantitative information on the chemical nature of the larval tracks and a molecular phylogeny of seven species belonging to three different genera are provided, and the congruence between these two sets of results assessed. The results confirm the phylogeny hypothesis and infer a gradual mode of evolution of these infochemicals.

Is assessment of oviposition sites using conspecific larval cues a general mechanism in aphidophagous ladybirds (Coccinellidae)?

“…Magro et al. , ). In contrast, no attention was paid to patch assessment for oviposition of the relatively dull‐coloured, minute aphidophagous species of the Scymninae subfamily, although they are common in communities of aphid predators (Magro et al.…”

Coccinellid interactions mediated by vegetation heterogeneity

“…Studies have also shown that increased habitat heterogeneity may enhance the potential for coexistence of H. axyridis with native aphidophagous predators by reducing intraguild interactions (Grez & Villagr an, 2000;Gardiner et al, 2009;Osawa, 2011). Furthermore, coccinellids often avoid laying eggs in areas with heterospecific cues (Magro et al, 2010) and spatial structure thereby provides benefits to adults that may use these alternative locations for oviposition. Furthermore, coccinellids often avoid laying eggs in areas with heterospecific cues (Magro et al, 2010) and spatial structure thereby provides benefits to adults that may use these alternative locations for oviposition.…”

Effect of presence and semiochemicals of conspecific stages on oviposition by ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

“…The closing of the window is determined by the maturation of aphid colony (Kan, 1988a, b), as indicated by the presence of alate aphids (Kan & Sasakawa, 1986) and larval tracks (R ži ka, 2001a, 2003Magro et al, 2007Magro et al, , 2010. The inhibitory effect of the presence of conspecific larvae on oviposition was first reported in Adalia bipunctata (Linnaeus) (Hemptinne & Dixon, 1991).…”

“…The oviposition deterrence of larval tracks also extends to heterospecifics (R ži ka, 2001a;2003;Magro et al, 2007Magro et al, , 2010. The ODP primarily signals the presence and density of larvae in a patch, thereby allowing assessment of predation and cannibalism risk to eggs that may be laid (Martini et al, 2009;Moser et al, 2010;Meisner et al, 2011).…”

“…The ODP primarily signals the presence and density of larvae in a patch, thereby allowing assessment of predation and cannibalism risk to eggs that may be laid (Martini et al, 2009;Moser et al, 2010;Meisner et al, 2011). Studies indicate that the deterrence induced by ODP is more prominent amongst conspecifics than heterospecifics owing to qualitative similarity; the closer the phylogenetic relations, the more the deterrence (Michaud & Jyoti 2007;Magro et al, 2007Magro et al, , 2010.…”