Olfactory cues may influence host plant preferences for oviposition of female moths within a community of stemborers that utilise the same resource. This study aimed to evaluate plant preferences for oviposition of gravid females of noctuid stemborers, Busseola fusca and Sesamia calamistis, and the crambid Chilo partellus for uninfested maize plants and plants infested by conspecific or heterospecific larvae. The involvement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by uninfested and maize plants infested by conspecific or heterospecific larvae on moth orientation was studied in Y-tube olfactometer assays and in the field. All gravid female moths significantly preferred VOCs emitted by plants infested by conspecific or heterospecific larvae over those from uninfested plants, and female moths did not systematically prefer VOCs emitted by plants infested by conspecifics. Field trials confirmed these results. Chemical analysis by coupled gas chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that VOCs emitted by larvae-infested plants, regardless of the stemborer species, were compositionally richer than those released by uninfested plants but their emission intensity varied with species involved in the infestation. Busseola fusca larvae induced a compositionally richer VOCs profile than S. calamistis and C. partellus larvae. Eight candidate attractants were associated with larvae-infested plants. These results open new avenues to develop attractants specific to trap female stemborer moths in the field.

中文翻译：

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卡特彼勒诱导的植物挥发物吸引同种和异种成虫在玉米上的鳞翅目茎虫群落中产卵

嗅觉提示可能会影响寄主植物偏爱利用相同资源的草bor群落中的雌蛾产卵的偏好。这项研究旨在评估植物偏好性对夜蛾茎，雌性Busseola fusca和Sesamia calamistis以及卵状Chilo partellus的雌性妊娠卵的影响。适用于未受感染的玉米植物和被同种或异种幼虫侵染的植物。在Y型管嗅觉测定法中和在野外研究了未受侵染和玉米受同种或异种幼虫侵染的挥发性有机化合物（VOC）对蛾子定向的影响。与未受侵染的植物相比，所有妊娠雌蛾都显着偏爱被同种或异种幼虫侵染的植物释放的VOC，而雌蛾没有系统地偏爱被同种植物侵染的植物释放的VOC。现场试验证实了这些结果。气相色谱/质谱联用的化学分析表明，受幼虫侵染的植物释放出的挥发性有机化合物，与bor虫的种类无关，布塞氏蝇幼虫诱导的成分比V. calamistis和C. partellus幼虫更丰富。八个候选引诱剂与幼虫侵染的植物有关。这些结果为在田间诱捕专门诱捕雌性to蛾的诱剂开辟了新途径。