Myzus persicae (Homoptera: Aphididae) and Capsicum annuum (Solanaceae) volatiles: their effect on predators attraction

The behaviour of predators and their efficacy as biological pest control agents can be affected by the volatile infochemicals emitted by their preys and host plants. To test this hypothesis, the response of three ladybirds, the Coccinellidae Eriopis connexa, Cyclo-neda sanguínea and Harmonía axyridis, in presence of the aphid Myzus persicae and the host plant Capsicum annuum, was here analyzed using an air static olfactometer. Data showed that, in presence of the prey or the host plant alone, no significant differences in the time required for the three ladybird species to choose the volátiles source chamber (p < 0.05) were found. However, when the effect of the association aphid-host plant on the predators foraging behaviour was analyzed, C. sanguínea required significantly lower time to select the odour source. These variations are attributed to the higher attrac-tion exerted by induced volátiles emissions, which act as sinomones in C. sanguínea case