Yan Yi, Zhang Yunhui, Zhang Bo, Yang Chaoxia, Zhang Fangmei, Wei Changping, Zhou Xuguo, Zhu Xun, Li Xiangrui
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
College of Agronomy, Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, Xinyang, China.
J Econ Entomol. 2025 Aug 29;118(4):1653-1661. doi: 10.1093/jee/toaf129.
(E)-β-farnesene (EβF), a sesquiterpene widely recognized for its role in aphid alarm signaling, triggers escape behaviors and influences aphid population dynamics. Despite its potential as a biological control agent, the effects of EβF on the English grain aphid Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a major wheat pest, remain insufficiently explored. In this study, we topically applied EβF at a concentration gradient (10 to 1,000 ng/μl) to various developmental stages of S. avenae and assessed their behavioral responses, development, reproduction, and winged offspring ratio under different population densities. Our results revealed that EβF at 10 ng/μl induced significant behavioral changes, including leg shaking, fast walking, and falling from host plants, across all developmental stages. Exposure to 200 ng/μl EβF significantly reduced fecundity by 19.6% and shortened lifespan by 17.8%, while increasing the proportion of winged offspring by 19.8%, particularly under low parental density combined with high offspring density. Field trials further revealed that a higher concentration of EβF (1,000 ng/μl) led to a 25% increase in the proportion of winged offspring compared to controls, with environmental factors such as population density influencing the response. These findings confirm the insecticidal and density-dependent effects of EβF on S. avenae, with transgenerational impacts on wing dimorphism, highlighting its potential for the sustainable aphid control in wheat ecosystems.
（E）-β-法尼烯（EβF）是一种倍半萜烯，因其在蚜虫警报信号传导中的作用而被广泛认可，它会引发逃避行为并影响蚜虫种群动态。尽管EβF具有作为生物防治剂的潜力，但它对小麦主要害虫麦长管蚜（半翅目：蚜科）的影响仍未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们以浓度梯度（10至1000纳克/微升）将EβF局部施用于麦长管蚜的各个发育阶段，并评估了它们在不同种群密度下的行为反应、发育、繁殖和有翅后代比例。我们的结果表明，10纳克/微升的EβF在所有发育阶段均引发了显著的行为变化，包括腿部抖动、快速行走和从寄主植物上掉落。暴露于200纳克/微升的EβF会使繁殖力显著降低19.6%，寿命缩短17.8%，同时使有翅后代的比例增加19.8%，特别是在低亲代密度与高后代密度相结合的情况下。田间试验进一步表明，与对照相比，较高浓度的EβF（1000纳克/微升）会使有翅后代的比例增加25%，种群密度等环境因素会影响这种反应。这些发现证实了EβF对麦长管蚜的杀虫作用和密度依赖性影响，以及对翅型二态性的跨代影响，突出了其在小麦生态系统中可持续控制蚜虫的潜力。
