Abstract:

The learning behavior of Scleroderma sichuanensis Xiao fed on the fictitious hosts Tenebrio molitor L. in the process of host foraging was studied using Y-tube olfactometer. The results showed that the female parasitoids in different microhabitats from pine needles, pine barks, turpentine, and fir barks respectively，responded positively to the corresponding volatiles when they were offered with a two-ways choice between blank and the volatiles previously experienced at emergence and the early stage of adult, but the females showed no learning behavior to fir leaves though they had experienced the fir leaves microhabitats. Provided with additional fresh hosts at emergence and the early stage of adult, the females showed no increased preference to volatiles in the Y-tube olfactometer. Associative learning occurred when the parasitoids fed on the host or honey and smelled the odors from branches of pine or fir at the same time. There was no significant difference on the host foraging between the females with the experience of pine or fir volatiles for 4 days and for 8 days.



Key words: Scleroderma sichuanensis, fictitious hosts, Tenebrio molitor, Pinus massoniana, Cunninghamia lanceolata, volatile, learning behavior, associative learning