Abstract: We investigated the role of floral odors from cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.), in mediating oviposition of the bean pod borer moth, Maruca vitrata, a serious pest of grain legumes that flies to host plants at the flowering stage and oviposits onto flowers and buds. The flower of the host plant V. unguiculata was a stimulus for egg-laying by M. vitrata in an oviposition bioassay. Commercial longifolene, β-caryophyllene, linalool, geraniol, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate were used as stimulus. Each one elicited dose-dependent electroantennogram responses in female M. vitrata, and all but longifolene stimulated oviposition, when presented singly. Beta-caryophyllene was the most active stimulant, similar to that of the flower of V. unguiculata, and eliciting a dose-dependent oviposition response. Either olfaction or gustation was sufficient to mediate an oviposition response to V. unguiculata floral volatiles: intact M. vitrata responded to β-caryophyllene whether or not they could contact the source of the volatiles, and females with amputated antennae responded if allowed to contact the source. We believe this is the first demonstration in a moth where β-caryophyllene from the host plant was able to mediate an oviposition response. As β-caryophyllene is widely expressed by non-host plants, we suggest that its role in stimulating oviposition could be exploited as part of a push-pull strategy for pest management in which β-caryophyllene-expressing non-host plants provide a population sink for M. vitrata.
Keywords: Maruca vitrata; Vigna unguiculata; floral odor; oviposition; β-caryophyllene.