Effects of olfactory cues on the foraging behavior of a Carabid beetle, Calosoma wilcoxi, a predator of a forest defoliator.

Arthropod predators use environmental cues such as kairomones to locate herbivore prey. Several species have been shown to be attracted to volatiles emitted by herbivore host plants, as well as olfactory cues produced by the herbivore. Calosoma wilcoxi is a voracious predator that specializes on lepidopteran larvae often found in the forest canopy, showing a preference for the fall cankerworm. It is unknown whether C. wilcoxi uses olfactory cues associated with prey or their host plants to locate foraging sites. The objective of this study is to use fall cankerworm frass, caterpillars, damaged oak leaves, and conspecifics to determine if C. wilcoxi uses olfaction to located prey