Insect host plant selection in complex environments

David Carrasco; Mattias C Larsson; Peter Anderson

doi:10.1016/j.cois.2015.01.014

Insect host plant selection in complex environments

Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2015 Apr:8:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.01.014. Epub 2015 Jan 29.

Authors

David Carrasco¹, Mattias C Larsson², Peter Anderson²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden. Electronic address: david.carrasco@biol.lu.se.
² Division of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.

PMID: 32846657
DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.01.014

Abstract

Selection of suitable host plants is essential for the development and survival of herbivorous insects. Here we address behavioural mechanisms and the role of olfactory cues governing host choice, and their adaptive significance in complicated ecological contexts, with a focus on polyphagous insects. We also consider how recent developments in the study of olfactory systems of insects can provide a functional description of physiological mechanisms behind host plant choice. This may apply from the broader evolutionary history and local adaptations of olfactory receptor genes, to the underlying neural mechanisms behind innate host preferences and experience-based plasticity in host plant choice.

Publication types

Review