ARS | Publication request: Relationship between olfactory and visual stimuli during host plant recognition in immature and adult glassy-winged sharpshooter.

Submitted to: CDFA Pierce's Disease Control Program Research Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: November 5, 2005
Publication Date: December 5, 2005
Citation: Patt, J.M., Setamou, M. 2005. Relationship between olfactory and visual stimuli during host plant recognition in immature and adult glassy-winged sharpshooter. Proceedings of the CDFA Pierce's Disease Control Program Research Symposium, December 5-7, 2005, San Diego, California. p. 122-123.

Interpretive Summary: A behavioral chamber and experimental protocols were developed to assess the responses of the glassy-winged sharpshooter to combinations of visual and odor cues associated with plants upon which it feeds and lays it eggs. Exposure to the odor of cow pea leaves enhanced the responses of both immature and adult sharpshooters to visual targets comprised of attractive colors (bright yellow and lime green) as well as to visual targets with neutral colors (gray and white). Both target color and plant odor differentially affected the amount of time the adults allocated to different behaviors, such as foraging on the colored targets and orienting to light. In terms of detecting and locating suitable plant foliage, the results of these experiments suggest that the primary effect of foliage odor is to enhance the sharpshooter’s response level to color or other visual stimuli.

Technical Abstract: An olfactometer was designed to assess the relative effects of visual, olfactory, and visual x olfactory stimuli on host plant detection in adult and immature glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca coagulata. Factorial designs were used in no-choice tests to measure responses to binary combination of attractive- or neutral-colored visual targets that emitted either host plant odor or humid air. Both main and interactive effects to responses to the color-odor combinations were observed. Exposure to host plant odor enhanced the responses of both immatures (e.g., residence and orientation time of nymphs on perch sticks) and adults (e.g., foraging time, phototaxic response) to visual targets comprised of attractive colors as well as to targets with neutral colors. Both target color and host plant odor differentially affected time allocation of adults to individual behaviors. In terms of host plant detection, the results suggest that the primary effect of host plant odor is to enhance response levels to visual stimuli.