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Bart Lievens - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Gustatory response and longevity in Aphidius parasitoids and their hyperparasitoid Dendrocerus aphidum
Journal of Pest Science, 2017Co-Authors: Tim Goelen, Martine Kos, Dieter Baets, Caroline Paulussen, Marijke Lenaerts, Hans Rediers, Felix L. Wäckers, Hans Jacquemyn, Bart LievensAbstract:Aphid parasitoids are commonly used in the biological control of aphids. However, their success in biological control largely depends on the availability of carbohydrate-rich food as an energy source for maintenance and reproduction. Therefore, as these resources have become rare in modern agricultural systems, external sugar sources like flowering plants or artificial sugar solutions are more and more used to provide the biocontrol agents with the necessary sugars. When developing such artificial food sources, it is essential to carefully select the sugars that best support the target parasitoids without benefiting non-target insects, such as pest insects or hyperparasitoids. Here, we investigated the gustatory response and longevity of two commonly used aphid parasitoids (Aphidius colemani and Aphidius matricariae) and their hyperparasitoid Dendrocerus aphidum when provided with one of eight plant- and/or insect-derived sugars (fructose, galactose, glucose, melibiose, Melezitose, rhamnose, sucrose and trehalose). Our results showed that the studied insect species consumed the largest amounts of sugars that are most commonly found in honeydew (sucrose, fructose, glucose and Melezitose) and also survived best when feeding on these sugars. Both Aphidius spp. survived well on melibiose, whereas D. aphidum performed poorly on this sugar. When melibiose was offered in a mixture with glucose, a significant reduction in longevity was observed for D. aphidum when compared to glucose only, while this was less pronounced for Aphidius spp. This knowledge can be exploited in tailoring food sources to selectively support Aphidius parasitoids, enhancing the biological control of aphids.
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Adult Parasitoids of Honeydew-Producing Insects Prefer Honeydew Sugars to Cover their Energetic Needs
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2016Co-Authors: Marijke Lenaerts, Tim Goelen, Caroline Paulussen, Hans Jacquemyn, Lamis Abid, Felix Wäckers, Bart LievensAbstract:To meet their carbohydrate requirements, adult parasitoids exploit a broad range of sugar resources, including floral and extrafloral nectar and honeydew. Although honeydew might be the predominant sugar source, especially in agricultural systems, it often is nutritionally inferior to sugar sources like nectar. Given its broad availability, it may be expected that sugar-feeding insects have evolved specialized adaptations to deal with this typically inferior sugar source. This would apply especially to organisms that have a close association with honeydew producers. Here, we hypothesized that parasitoids of honeydew-producing insects should show a pronounced response to sugars, such as fructose, sucrose, Melezitose, and trehalose, and to a lesser extent glucose. To test this hypothesis, we investigated sugar consumption, feeding behavior and survival of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi on several sugars (equiweight solutions). Our results show that A. ervi adults consumed typical honeydew sugars (sucrose, fructose, trehalose, and Melezitose) the most, while consuming considerably less glucose or melibiose. Rhamnose, which does not occur in aphid honeydew, was not, or was only marginally, consumed. When different sugars were provided at the same time, A. ervi adults preferred sucrose or fructose over glucose or Melezitose. Furthermore, pre-exposure to sucrose or fructose significantly reduced subsequent intake of glucose, suggesting an acquired distaste for glucose after being previously exposed to highly preferred sugars such as sucrose and fructose. Altogether, this study shows that A. ervi adults prefer sugars (fructose, Melezitose, trehalose, and sucrose) that are overrepresented in aphid honeydew and show a lower preference to one (glucose) that is underrepresented in honeydew.
Melanie K Fischer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition of polyphagous black bean aphid aphis fabae hemiptera aphididae on various host plants and implications for ant attendance
European Journal of Entomology, 2005Co-Authors: Melanie K Fischer, Wolfgang Volkl, Klaus H HoffmannAbstract:The black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, is polyphagous and its life cycle involves seasonal migration between summer and winter host plants. The aphids are regularly tended by honeydew-collecting ants. This study investigates whether differences exist in honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition for A. fabae subspecies feeding on various host plants and whether such dif- ferences reflect differences in the intensity of ant-atttendance ( Lasius niger). A. f. fabae feeding on the perennial summer host, Tanacetum vulgare, produced twice the amount of honeydew (ca. 110 µg per aphid . h -1 ) than when feeding on the annual host plants Vicia faba or Chenopodium album. Honeydew production of A. f. cirsiia- canthoides feeding on the creeping thistle Cirsium arvense was the highest measured in this study (ca. 150 µg per aphid . h -1 ). Total sugar concentration in the honeydew of A. f. fabae did not differ when feeding on various summer hosts, whereas the honeydew of A. f. cirsiiacanthoides on C. arvense contained a significantly higher amount of total sugars. The trisaccharide Melezitose was the dominant sugar in all the honeydew samples, except for the honeydew of A. f. fabae and A. f. evonymi feeding on the woody winter host plant Evonymus europaeus. The highest proportion of Melezitose (80% of total sugars) was found in the honeydew of A. f. cirsi- iacanthoides feeding on C. arvense. In this subspecies, the intensity of ant-attendance was also highest. The results confirm our hypothesis, that the sugar richness of the honeydew (rate of honeydew secretion × total sugar concentration) along with the presence of the attractant sugar Melezitose are the critical factors in determining the extent of ant-attendance. In A. f. fabae feeding on the spindle tree E. europaeus, the total sugar concentration of the honeydew as well as the sugar composi- tion differed significantly between generations.
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host plant and ants influence the honeydew sugar composition of aphids
Functional Ecology, 2001Co-Authors: Melanie K Fischer, Alexander W ShingletonAbstract:Summary 1 Honeydew composition is an important factor in mediating ant–homopteran mutualisms. The trisaccharide Melezitose is especially significant in this interaction. Honeydew of three Chaitophorus aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae), reared on two species of Populus (Salicaceae), was analysed to investigate factors that may influence honeydew composition. 2 Honeydew of Chaitophorus populialbae and C. populeti contained high proportions of the Melezitose. These species are typically tended by ants. In contrast, C. tremulae honeydew contained low proportions of Melezitose. This species is typically untended. 3 Chaitophorus populeti and C. populialbae produced higher proportions of Melezitose when reared on Populus tremula than on P. alba. 4 Chaitophorus populeti and C. populialbae reduced their production of Melezitose when reared in the absence of ants. The reverse was true in C. tremulae. 5 These results show that honeydew composition differs not only between aphid species but also within aphid species. They support known differences in ant preference for the different aphid species, and produce further predictions for ant preference for aphids on different host plants. In particular they show for the first time that ant tending may itself influence honeydew composition. They suggest that maintaining a honeydew composition attractive to ants may incur metabolic costs on aphids.
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ant aphid mutualisms the impact of honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition on ant preferences
Oecologia, 1999Co-Authors: Wolfgang Volkl, Joseph Woodring, Melanie K Fischer, Matthias W Lorenz, Klaus H HoffmannAbstract:The honeydew composition and production of four aphid species feeding on Tanacetum vulgare, and mutualistic relationships with the ant Lasius niger were studied. In honeydew of Metopeurum fuscoviride and Brachycaudus cardui, xylose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, Melezitose, and raffinose were detected. The proportion of trisaccharides (Melezitose, raffinose) ranged between 20% and 35%. No trisaccharides were found in honeydew of Aphis fabae, and honeydew of Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria consisted of only xylose, glucose and sucrose. M. fuscoviride produced by far the largest amounts of honeydew per time unit (880 μg/aphid per hour), followed by B. cardui (223 μg/aphid per hour), A. fabae (133 μg/aphid per hour) and M. tanacetaria (46 μg/aphid per hour). The qualitative and quantitative honeydew production of the aphid species corresponded well with the observed attendance by L. niger. L. niger workers preferred trisaccharides over disaccharides and monosaccharides when these sugars were offered in choice tests. The results are consistent with the ants' preference for M. fuscoviride, which produced the largest amount of honeydew including a considerable proportion of the trisaccharides Melezitose and raffinose. The preference of L. niger for B. cardui over A. fabae, both producing similar amounts of honeydew, may be explained by the presence of trisaccharides and the higher total sugar concentration in B. cardui honeydew. M. tanacetaria, which produced only low quantities of honeydew with no trisaccharides was not attended at all by L. niger.
Rika Ozawa - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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effects of aphid honeydew sugars on the longevity and fecundity of the aphidophagous gall midge aphidoletes aphidimyza
Biological Control, 2014Co-Authors: Hiroshi Watanabe, Shoko Nishikawa, Ryohei Sugiyama, Takuya Endou, Eizi Yano, Kaori Watanabe, Noboru Katayama, Junji Takabayashi, Rika OzawaAbstract:Abstract The predatory gall midge Aphidoletes aphidimyza, which is used for augmentative biological control of aphids in greenhouses, uses aphid honeydew as an energy source. Currently, Rhopalosiphum padi on barley plants and Melanaphis sacchari on sorghum plants are used as the banker plant systems for A. aphidimyza to control Aphis gossypii on eggplant in Japan. We analyzed the sugar components of the honeydew of these three species by HPLC. The major components of honeydew were sucrose, fructose, and Melezitose for A. gossypii; glucose and fructose for R. padi; and glucose, fructose, and Melezitose for M. sacchari. Maltose and trehalose were minor components of the honeydew of these species. We investigated the influence of sugars, including three artificial aphid honeydews, six sugar components, and distilled water, on the longevity of unmated A. aphidimyza. Both females and males attained the greatest longevity on sucrose and artificial honeydew of A. gossypii. Mean longevities of both females and males were shortest when they were provided only with water. We conducted another experiment in which a mated female was released in a cage with an eggplant seedling infested with A. gossypii and fed with sucrose or only water. Females fed with sucrose lived significantly longer and had higher lifetime fecundity than those fed only water.
Klaus H Hoffmann - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition of polyphagous black bean aphid aphis fabae hemiptera aphididae on various host plants and implications for ant attendance
European Journal of Entomology, 2005Co-Authors: Melanie K Fischer, Wolfgang Volkl, Klaus H HoffmannAbstract:The black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, is polyphagous and its life cycle involves seasonal migration between summer and winter host plants. The aphids are regularly tended by honeydew-collecting ants. This study investigates whether differences exist in honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition for A. fabae subspecies feeding on various host plants and whether such dif- ferences reflect differences in the intensity of ant-atttendance ( Lasius niger). A. f. fabae feeding on the perennial summer host, Tanacetum vulgare, produced twice the amount of honeydew (ca. 110 µg per aphid . h -1 ) than when feeding on the annual host plants Vicia faba or Chenopodium album. Honeydew production of A. f. cirsiia- canthoides feeding on the creeping thistle Cirsium arvense was the highest measured in this study (ca. 150 µg per aphid . h -1 ). Total sugar concentration in the honeydew of A. f. fabae did not differ when feeding on various summer hosts, whereas the honeydew of A. f. cirsiiacanthoides on C. arvense contained a significantly higher amount of total sugars. The trisaccharide Melezitose was the dominant sugar in all the honeydew samples, except for the honeydew of A. f. fabae and A. f. evonymi feeding on the woody winter host plant Evonymus europaeus. The highest proportion of Melezitose (80% of total sugars) was found in the honeydew of A. f. cirsi- iacanthoides feeding on C. arvense. In this subspecies, the intensity of ant-attendance was also highest. The results confirm our hypothesis, that the sugar richness of the honeydew (rate of honeydew secretion × total sugar concentration) along with the presence of the attractant sugar Melezitose are the critical factors in determining the extent of ant-attendance. In A. f. fabae feeding on the spindle tree E. europaeus, the total sugar concentration of the honeydew as well as the sugar composi- tion differed significantly between generations.
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ant aphid mutualisms the impact of honeydew production and honeydew sugar composition on ant preferences
Oecologia, 1999Co-Authors: Wolfgang Volkl, Joseph Woodring, Melanie K Fischer, Matthias W Lorenz, Klaus H HoffmannAbstract:The honeydew composition and production of four aphid species feeding on Tanacetum vulgare, and mutualistic relationships with the ant Lasius niger were studied. In honeydew of Metopeurum fuscoviride and Brachycaudus cardui, xylose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, Melezitose, and raffinose were detected. The proportion of trisaccharides (Melezitose, raffinose) ranged between 20% and 35%. No trisaccharides were found in honeydew of Aphis fabae, and honeydew of Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria consisted of only xylose, glucose and sucrose. M. fuscoviride produced by far the largest amounts of honeydew per time unit (880 μg/aphid per hour), followed by B. cardui (223 μg/aphid per hour), A. fabae (133 μg/aphid per hour) and M. tanacetaria (46 μg/aphid per hour). The qualitative and quantitative honeydew production of the aphid species corresponded well with the observed attendance by L. niger. L. niger workers preferred trisaccharides over disaccharides and monosaccharides when these sugars were offered in choice tests. The results are consistent with the ants' preference for M. fuscoviride, which produced the largest amount of honeydew including a considerable proportion of the trisaccharides Melezitose and raffinose. The preference of L. niger for B. cardui over A. fabae, both producing similar amounts of honeydew, may be explained by the presence of trisaccharides and the higher total sugar concentration in B. cardui honeydew. M. tanacetaria, which produced only low quantities of honeydew with no trisaccharides was not attended at all by L. niger.
R Wagenaar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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hymenopteran parasitoids synthesize honeydew specific oligosaccharides
Functional Ecology, 2006Co-Authors: Jana C Lee, K Winkler, R WagenaarAbstract:1. Many arthropods depend on carbohydrate-rich food sources such as nectar or honeydew. Nevertheless, we often know little about the extent to which various sugar sources contribute to the diet of arthropods. 2. One way to study food use in the field is to analyse guts of collected insects for source-specific compounds. Sugar sources often show distinct differences in their carbohydrate composition. This applies especially to honeydew, the excretion product of phloem-feeding ‘Sternorrhynchae’, which often features a broad range of phloem-feeder synthesized di- and oligosaccharides. 3. Out of these oligosaccharides, Melezitose, has been widely used as an indicator of honeydew consumption. The use of Melezitose or other honeydew saccharides as ‘signature sugars’ hinges on the assumption that the production of these sugars is unique to honeydew-secreting insects. 4. Here we show that the hymenopteran parasitoids Diadegma semiclausum and D. insulare synthesize the trisaccharides Melezitose and erlose as well as the disaccharide maltose when fed sucrose, but not when feeding on an equimolar glucose–fructose mixture. 5. The presence of Melezitose, erlose and maltose was confined to the parasitoid's digestive tract, indicating that enzyme activity is restricted to this area. D. semiclausum excrement contained low overall sugar concentrations and low relative levels of Melezitose, erlose and maltose. 6. Possible functions of sugar synthesis in these nectar-feeding insects are discussed.