Unlike mammals, most invertebrates provide no direct parental care for their progeny, which makes a well-selected oviposition site crucial. However, little is known about the female evaluation of opportunities and threats during host selection. Leveraging the wide range of host plants used by the polyphagous pest, Spodoptera littoralis, we investigate oviposition choice between two plants of different nutritional quality. Females prefer to lay their eggs on the host plant, which has inferior larval development and more natural enemies but provides lower predation rates. On the superior host plant, a major predator shows more successful search behavior and is more attracted to herbivore-induced vol- atiles. Our findings show that predator efficacy and odor-guided attraction, rather than predator abundance, determine enemy free space. We postulate that predators’ behaviors contribute to the weak correlation between prefer- ence and performance during host plant selection in S. littoralis and in polypha- gous insects in general.
Research Abstract
Research Date
Research Department
Research File
Research Journal
iScience
Research Member
Research Publisher
CellPress
Research Vol
26
Research Website
https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(23)00154-2
Research Year
2023