Abstract
Locomotory behaviour of 1st instar Helicoverpa armigera is influenced by a complex of micro-attributes, the leaf “environment”, comprising odours, wax chemistry, trichomes and grip texture. Larval movement speeds on leaves of different types varied more than eight fold. On garden pea, Pisum sativum, there is a hierarchy of stimuli perceived by larvae resulting in differing behavioural responses. Light and angle are paramount in responses to micro-environment. These influence responses to local stimuli. Experiments in darkness produce different responses from those under laboratory light. In darkness, on horizontal surfaces as found for most leaves, preference for leaf surface is driven by micro-environment associated with leaf waxes. Larvae prefer the abaxial surface. In light, on horizontal surfaces, larvae seek enclosed spaces and foray under leaf surfaces. They wander more openly in the dark. Such information is important in building a model of larval behaviour and predicting behaviour on differing plant architectures.
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge Dr Sanford Eigenbrode, University of Idaho, for providing plant varieties and discussion on epicuticular wax bioassays. Assoc. Prof. Christine Beveridge and Kerry Condon, The University of Queensland, ARC Center of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research are thanked for providing P. sativum seed and advice on plant matters. Dr. Dave Murray and Sue McLean, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Toowoomba, Australia provided H. armigera eggs. This research was supported under the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (DP0666109).
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Cribb, B.W., Hanan, J., Zalucki, M.P. et al. Effects of plant micro-environment on movement of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) larvae and the relationship to a hierarchy of stimuli. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 4, 165–173 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-010-9097-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-010-9097-0