Beneficial arthropod behavior mediated by airborne semiochemicals. II. Olfactometric studies of host location by the parasitoid Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

The response of Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) to odors from a plant-host complex was investigated using a four-choice olfactometer. Female, but not male, parasitoids responded in a dose-dependent fashion to volatiles from the plant-host complex and oviposition experience enhanced this response. Female age had no apparent effect on the response. Both artificially damaged leaves and frass elicited positive responses but of lower magnitude than those elicited by the plant-host complex. Volatiles collected from the plant-host complex placed on filter paper also elicited positive responses by female parasitoids.