Effect of cowpea cultivar, plant part and growth phenology on oviposition behaviour of the legume pod borer, Maruca testulalis Geyer (Lep., Pyralidae)

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Publication Date

9-26-2018

Abstract

Host marking pheromones (HMPs) deposited by female fruit flies deter other females from overexploiting the same fruit for egg laying. Using a bioassay-guided approach, we identified the HMP of the Natal fruit fly species Ceratitis rosa as glutamic acid, 1, from the aqueous fecal matter extract of ovipositing females by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Dual choice oviposition assays showed that both the fecal matter extract and 1 significantly reduced oviposition responses in conspecific females of C. rosa. Glutamic acid levels were 10-20 times higher in fecal matter than in the ovipositor or hemolymph extracts of females. Identification of 1 as a host marking pheromone in females of C. rosa improves our understanding of fruit fly chemical ecology and provides evidence that it could be used as a potential component in the integrated management of this fruit fly species.

Keywords

Ceratitis rosa, fruit fly, host marking pheromone, ovipositional deterrent

PubMed ID

30180560

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