Although specialist herbivorous insects are guided by innate responses to host plant cues, host plant preference may be influenced by experience and is not dictated by instinct alone. The effect of learning on host plant preference was examined in the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri; vector of the causal agent of citrus greening disease or huanglongbing. We investigated: a) whether devel...

In Lepidoptera, host plant selection is first conditioned by oviposition site preference of adult females followed by feeding site preference of larvae. Dietary experience to plant volatile cues can induce larval and adult host plant preference. We investigated how the parent's and self-experience induce host preference in adult females and larvae of three lepidopteran stem borer species with d...

Habitat isolation occurs when habitat preferences lower the probability of mating between individuals associated with differing habitats. While a potential barrier to gene flow during ecological speciation, the effect of habitat isolation on reproductive isolation has rarely been directly tested. Herein, we first estimated habitat preference for each of six populations of the gall wasp Belonocn...

The ubiquitous freshwater pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica has long been considered a true generalist, capable of infecting wide range fish species. It remains unclear, however, whether different isolates this pathogen, obtained from distinct geographic locations and host species, display differences in preference. To assess this, the current study examined induced zoospore encystment responses ...

1. Numerous studies have reported the effects of learning or experience on parasitoid host preference and location. However, the integration of pre-imaginal and adult experiences on the subsequent host preference and adult/offspring performance has been rarely tested in host–parasite interactions. 2. We present direct evidence that theses two kinds of experiences affect host preference and rela...

Human brugian filariasis, which is caused by Brugia malayi and B. timori , affects 13 million people in the oriental region (WHO 2002) and is most common in India and China (Ottesen et al. 1997). The most important vectors of B. malayi , in the endemic countries of South-east Asia, are different Mansonia species in the subgenus Mansonioides . The vectors of the parasite causing brugian filarias...

The present study was undertaken to verify ancient data in the literature on ovipositional preference o f the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis for the terrestrial plant Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree). Adult specimens o f Sepia were placed in basins together with aerial parts not only of P. lentiscus, but also o f Artemisia arborescens, Centaurea alba var. deusta, Quercus ilex and Laurus nobilis. ...