Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
Probing the Limits of Egg Recognition Using Egg Rejection Experiments Along Phenotypic Gradients
Published on: August 22, 2018
Analyses of an egg recognition kairomone ofTelenomus heliothidis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) Isolation and host
1Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 77843, College Station, Texas.
Abstract:
Two large proteins (>330 K) present in the accessory gland ofHeliothis virescens F. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) serve as an egg recognition kairomone for the parasitoidTelenomus heliothidis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Glass beads coated with the isolated proteins were examined and probed by the parasitoid while uncoated glass beads were not. Electrophoretic analysis of the contents of theH. virescens accessory gland suggests that the gland's contents serve as an egg adhesive. Comparison of the gland proteins revealed that theT. heliothidis hostHeliothis zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) accessory gland contained the kairomonally active proteins while the nonhostSpodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) did not.
