Data from: Effects of non-host traces on behavioural responses of an egg parasitoid to substrate-borne semiochemicals in a multi-herbivore scenario
Data files
Jun 24, 2026 version files 38.17 KB
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Raw_open_arena.xlsx
32.05 KB
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README.md
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Abstract
Insect parasitoids commonly rely on air-borne and substrate-borne semiochemicals during the host location process. In addition, parasitoids commonly face the challenge of exploiting semiochemicals in complex environments, where the presence of non-host resources interspersed with host resources may interfere with their foraging efficiency. While numerous investigations showed that non-hosts may interfere with the ability of parasitoids to exploit air-borne semiochemicals, research on substrate-borne semiochemicals has lagged behind. In open arena behavioral assays, we studied the response of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis to walking traces left on the substrate by the host Nezara viridula either alone or in combination with larval traces left by the non-host Spodoptera littoralis. The presence of non-host larval traces affected parasitoid responses to substrate‑borne semiochemicals left by N. viridula hosts, but the interference depended on the hierarchical value of the host walking traces. In fact, non-host larval traces significantly reduced the residence time and increased the linear speed of T. basalis when exploring patches contaminated by gravid N. viridula females. However, the presence of non-host larval traces did not have any apparent effect on parasitoid responses to patches contaminated by N. viridula males. In a follow-up experiment restricted only to gravid N. viridula females, we found that the disruptive effects on egg parasitoid responses to substrate‑borne semiochemicals were also influenced by non‑host density and developmental stage, with the strongest interference occurring in the presence of traces left by fifth‑instar S. littoralis larvae. Our results show that non-host herbivores can disrupt egg parasitoid exploitation of substrate-borne semiochemicals with potential consequences for the foraging efficiency of biological control agents in multi-herbivore environments.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v9s4mw7b4
Description of the data and file structure
We investigated the response of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis to walking traces left on the substrate by the host Nezara viridula either alone or in combination with larval traces left by the non-host Spodoptera littoralis in open arena behavioral assays.
These data are used to create all the figures and carry out the analyses presented in the manuscript.
Description of the data and file structure
Raw_open_arena.xlsx – This file contains the data used to assess the response of T. basalis in differently treated open arenas. The file includes three sheets corresponding to two experiments.
Experiment 1 was conducted to assess whether the behavioral responses of T. basalis females are affected by the hierarchical value of the N. viridula walking traces in open arenas concurrently contaminated by S. littoralis caterpillar. The recorded variables are residence time, linear speed, and path tortuosity index of T. basalis females in the open arena during a 600-second observation period.
Proportion of arrestment-Exp1 reports the arrestment response of T. basalis females tested in Experiment 1 in open-arena behavioral assays with substrate-borne semiochemicals. The data include all females tested to obtain 30 individuals showing arrestment responses per treatment combination for subsequent analyses of residence time, linear speed, and path tortuosity index. The variable arrestment is coded as 1 for females who displayed arrestment and 0 for females who did not display arrestment.
Experiment 2 was carried out to investigate whether the behavioral responses of T. basalis females to host walking traces in open arenas concurrently contaminated by S. littoralis caterpillars were influenced by the developmental stage and density of non-host caterpillars. The recorded variable is the residence time of T. basalis females in the open arena during a 60600-second observation period.
The Raw_open_arena.xlsx employs the following abbreviations:
Experiment 1 sheet
- time = residence time spent by wasps on the entire arena surface (seconds)
- speed = linear speed (mm/s)
- tortuosity = path tortuosity index
- Nv-Gf = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by a single gravid N. viridula female
- Nv-Gf+Sl = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and S. littoralis 4th instar caterpillars
- Nv-Vf = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by a single virgin N. viridula female
- Nv-Vf+Sl = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single virgin N. viridula female and S. littoralis 4th instar caterpillars
- Nv-M = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by a single N. viridula male
- Nv-M+Sl = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single N. viridula male and S. littoralis 4th instar caterpillars
Proportion of arrestment-Exp1
- host_sex = N. viridula individual used to contaminate the substrate. Gf indicates gravid female, Vf indicates virgin female, and M indicates male
- arrestment = binary response variable indicating whether the tested T. basalis female displayed an arrestment response. 1 indicates that the female displayed arrestment, while 0 indicates that the female did not display arrestment.
- Nv = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by a single N. viridula individual
- Nv+Sl = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single N. viridula individual and S. littoralis 4th instar caterpillars
Experiment 2 sheet
- time = residence time spent by wasps on the entire arena surface (seconds)
- instar = larval stages of S. littoralis caterpillar; "-" = indicates the absence of caterpillars in the treatment (only Nv)
- density = number of S. littoralis caterpillar; "-" = indicates the absence of caterpillars in the treatment (only Nv)
- Nv = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by a single gravid N. viridula female
- Nv+Sl_3rd–5 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 5 third-instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_3rd–3 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 3 third-instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_3rd–1 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 1 third-instar S. littoralicaterpillarrs
- Nv+Sl_4th–5 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 5 fourth instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_4th–3 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 3 fourth instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_4th–1 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 1 fourth instar S. littoralis caterpillar
- Nv+Sl_5th–5 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 5 fifth instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_5th–3 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 3 fifth instar S. littoralis caterpillars
- Nv+Sl_5th–1 = patches contaminated by walking traces left on the substrate by both a single gravid N. viridula female and 1 fifth instar S. littoralis caterpillar