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Oviposition Behavior of the Pollen Beetle (Meligethes aeneus): A Functional Study

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Abstract

The recognition by female phytophagous insects of a plant as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ host for egg laying is based on a variety of cues (either visual, physical or chemical). Specific cues are often looked for during stereotypic oviposition behaviors, composed of several phases having their own function(s). In this study the oviposition behavior of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus, a pest which lays eggs in flower buds of only some brassicaceous plants, was described in detail on five oilseed rape (Brassica napus) genotypes. In parallel, setae borne by the ovipositor were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Observations showed that the stereotypic oviposition sequence is functionally divided into three independent phases: external inspection, internal inspection and egg laying. The ovipositor plays a role in all phases by gaining information about external and internal bud parts. This role appears to be only physical since all the setae it bears are mechanoreceptors. Despite the fact that the pollen beetle is a specialist for oviposition, important variations in secondary metabolites that are typical of its host plant family (i.e., glucosinolates) on the bud did not influence clutch size. The crucial phase in the oviposition sequence seems to be the external inspection, during which poor and high-quality host plants are probably discriminated. Chemical information on bud surface is likely to be determinant in this process.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Jo Le Lannic, Francis Gouttefangeas, Loïc Joanny and Maryline Guilloux-Viry for their help with the SEM and to the UMR IGEPP glasshouse team for taking care of the plants used in this study. Maxime Hervé was supported by a CJS grant from the French National Institute of Agronomical Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR1349 IGEPP, INRA, F-35653, Le Rheu, France

    Maxime R. Hervé, Nathan Garcia & Régine Delourme

  2. UMR1349 IGEPP, Université Rennes 1, F-35000, Rennes, France

    Maxime R. Hervé & Anne Marie Cortesero

  3. Université Européenne de Bretagne, Rennes, France

    Maxime R. Hervé, Marie Trabalon, Anne Le Ralec & Anne Marie Cortesero

  4. UMR1349 IGEPP, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, F-35042, Rennes, France

    Anne Le Ralec

  5. UMR6552 EthoS, Université Rennes 1, F-35000, Rennes, France

    Marie Trabalon

Authors
  1. Maxime R. Hervé
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  2. Nathan Garcia
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  3. Marie Trabalon
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  4. Anne Le Ralec
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  5. Régine Delourme
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Correspondence to Maxime R. Hervé.

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Hervé, M.R., Garcia, N., Trabalon, M. et al. Oviposition Behavior of the Pollen Beetle (Meligethes aeneus): A Functional Study. J Insect Behav 28, 107–119 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-015-9485-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-015-9485-5

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