Meeting Abstract

P3.55  Sunday, Jan. 6  The Use of Chemoreception for Host Selection in Ovipositing Callosobruchus maculatus MOMIN, N.*; HIGGINS, A.; MUSOLF, B.E.; Clayton State University; Clayton State University; Clayton State University NuzhatMomin@mail.clayton.edu

The bean beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, parasitizes beans causing a reduction in the nutritive value and quality of seeds in developing countries. If it were known which sensory structure the C. maculatus uses to distinguish among different substrates then more specific methods of pest control could be developed. We hypothesized that the antennae are used in distant chemoreception by female C. maculatus host selection. We placed mated females with intact and ablated antennae in a maze with four canisters. Each canister held a different substrate choice: glass beads, wooden beads, black-eyed peas, and an empty canister. We recorded the first 12 hours after they were placed in the maze to observe their choice of canister. The females were given 48 hours to lay eggs on the different substrates. We measured the time it took for the beetles to choose a canister and found that the beetles with antennae were faster on average at selecting a canister than those with ablated antennae. More beetles with antennae chose the canister with black-eyed peas. We counted the number of eggs laid on the different substrates. Significantly more beetles with intact antennae chose to oviposit their eggs on black-eyed peas (p < .01). These results suggest that the antennae of C. maculatus are used for distant chemoreception in host selection for oviposition by female bean beetles.