The cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, produces pierisin-1, a protein inducing apoptosis of mammalian cells. In the present study, the biological activity of pierisin-1 as a protective agent against parasitic wasps for P. rapae was examined. Pierisin-1 caused detrimental effects on eggs and larvae of non-habitual parasitoids for P. rapae, Glyptapanteles pallipes, Cotesia kariyai and Cotesia...

STEINERNEMATID NEMATODES WERE EVALUATED AGAINST THE THREE MAJOR CRUCIFEROUS INSECT PESTS: the imported cabbageworm Artogeia rapae, the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, and the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni. LC(50) values of S. carpocapsae All, S. feltiae UK, S. feltiae 27, and S. riobrave 335 were 18.2, 3.6, 5.7, and 8.3 on A. rapae L(2); 24.5, 2.3, 6.0, and 15.5 on P. xylostella L(3); an...

When deciding where to oviposit, herbivorous insects consider: (i) the plant's value as a food source, (ii) the risks of competing with con- and heterospecific herbivores, and (iii) the risks of parasitism and predation on the host plant. The presence of con- and/or heterospecific competitors would further affect the oviposition preference, because the preceding herbivores induce direct/indirec...

In Arabidopsis, the MYC2 transcription factor on the one hand and the AP2/ERF transcription factors ORA59 and ERF1 on the other hand regulate distinct branches of the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway in an antagonistic fashion, co-regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene, respectively. Feeding by larvae of the specialist herbivorous insect Pieris rapae (small cabbage white butterfly) r...

Wild radish is an annual plant that exhibits broad spectrum induced resistance to herbivores. In two experiments, we placed potted plants [control, manually clipped, and damaged byPieris rapae(L.) larvae] in theÞeld andassayed forovipositionbyP. rapae(a specialist herbivore), damage by ßea beetles (a specialist herbivore), and damage by rabbits (a generalist herbivore). Induced responses attrac...

It is considered that the mate-locating behaviors of ectothermic insects are constrained by the ambient thermal conditions, since the flight ability depends on the body temperature. However, since ecological factors also influence the mating behaviors, the flight ability would not necessarily determine the time schedule of male mate-locating flight. To reveal how the ambient thermal conditions ...

Like many crucifer-specialist herbivores, Pieris rapae uses the presence of glucosinolates as a signal for oviposition and larval feeding. Arabidopsis thaliana glucosinolate-related mutants provide a unique resource for studying the in vivo role of these compounds in affecting P. rapae oviposition. Low indole glucosinolate cyp79B2 cyp79B3 mutants received fewer eggs than wild type, confirming p...