Interactions in entomology: Plant-parasitoid interaction in tritrophic systems

Tritrophic plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions are highly complex and o ften tightly interwoven. Plant-parasitoid interactions are a fundamental co mponent of such systems with profound implications both for parasitoid fora ging efficiency and plant defense. Chemical, plant-based cues are the domin ant cues used by parasitoids in long-range foraging to locate cryptic, high ly-dispersed hosts within a complex physical and chemical environment. It i s well documented that volatile chemical signals produced and released by p lants specifically in response to herbivore feeding play an important role in parasitoid foraging. New evidence suggests that, in addition to being hi ghly detectable and reliable indicators of herbivore presence, herbivore-in duced plant volatiles may convey herbivore-specific information that allows parasitoids to discriminate even closely-related herbivore species at long range.