Lobesia botrana larvae develop faster in the presence of parasitoids.

Fanny Vogelweith (1) , Yannick Moret (1) , Denis Thiery (2) , Jérôme Moreau (1)

1 BGS - Biogéosciences [UMR 6282]
2 UMRSV - Unité Mixte de Recherche en Santé Végétale (INRA/ENITA)

To combat parasitism hosts often rely on their immune system, which is the last line of defense. However, the immune system may not always be effective, and other non-immunological defenses might be favored to reduce the cost of parasite infection. Here we report that larvae of the moth Lobesia botrana can rapidly accelerate their development and reach maturity earlier in response to cues perceived at a distance from parasitoids. Such a phenotypically plastic life history shift, induced by the perception of deadly enemies in the environment, is likely to be an adaptive defensive strategy to prevent parasitoid attack, and has important implications in host-parasite dynamics.

Domaines: Interactions entre organismes; Parasitologie; Biodiversité et Ecologie

Fanny Vogelweith, Yannick Moret, Denis Thiery, Jérôme Moreau. Lobesia botrana larvae develop faster in the presence of parasitoids.. PLoS ONE, 2013, 8 (8), pp.e72568. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0072568⟩. ⟨hal-00861846⟩