Arthropod predators often use prey and conspecific cues to make foraging decisions. Calosoma wilcoxi (Leconte) is a voracious predatory beetle that specializes on lepidopteran larvae often found in the forest canopy, including the fall cankerworm. This study tested the hypothesis that C. wilcoxi uses olfactory cues to detect prey and conspecifics. A Y-tube olfactometer was used to test attractiveness to larvae, larval frass, conspecific cues, and volatiles from herbivore-damaged white oak leaves. C. wilcoxi did not preferentially choose the treatment in any of the experiments. There was no difference in mean time spent in the treatment or control arm for any of the cues assayed. The time to choose the treatment was significantly shorter in the female conspecific experiment only. I found no evidence that C. wilcoxi uses olfaction to locate prey; however, C. wilcoxi is attracted to conspecifics. C. wilcoxi may use conspecific cues to make informed foraging decisions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-5467 |
| Date | 01 January 2016 |
| Creators | Myrick-Bragg, Kennesha |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © The Author |
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