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Phytochemical basis of learning inRhagoletis pomonella and other herbivorous insects
1Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, Massachusetts.
Abstract:
Examples of phytochemically-based learning of host preference in herbivorous insects are reviewed in the context of traditionally important issues: the number and kinds of chemicals involved; which sensory modalities are affected; whether peripheral or central nervous processing is altered; and whether learning is associative or not. A fifth issue addressed here- whether experience enhances a feeding or ovipositing insect's propensity to accept familiar chemical stimuli or to reject novel chemical stimuli-has been ignored in previous studies. Following the review, evidence is presented indicating that female apple maggot flies (Ragoletis pomonella) learn to reject both novel physical and novel chemical stimuli.
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