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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Desire' Macheda, Dr Ankush PrasharORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 The Author(s). Ecological Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society.Bacterial endosymbionts can increase aphid tolerance to environmental stressors, including natural enemies, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Macrosiphum euphorbiae, which frequently feeds on Solanum species, forms a facultative association with Hamiltonella defensa. Parasitoid wasps use volatile cues from aphid honeydew to locate hosts, yet the role of endosymbionts in shaping honeydew attractiveness to parasitoids has been little studied. We compared honeydew production from clonal lines of M. euphorbiae with and without H. defensa across two aphid genotypes, collecting and analysing the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and testing parasitoid (Aphidius ervi) behavioural responses to honeydew presented in a choice assay. Honeydew production differed between genotypes, and H. defensa-infected aphids produced more honeydew in the choice assay. Parasitoids were more attracted to honeydew from infected aphids, although VOC profiles showed minimal differences between infected and uninfected aphids. These results suggest that facultative endosymbionts may influence aphid honeydew production and indirectly affect parasitoid foraging, highlighting the importance of mechanistic studies of symbiont-mediated tritrophic interactions.
Author(s): Macheda D, Foito A, Preedy KF, Alexander CJ, Prashar A, Karley AJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Ecological Entomology
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 05/03/2026
Acceptance date: 11/02/2026
Date deposited: 16/03/2026
ISSN (print): 0307-6946
ISSN (electronic): 1365-2311
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/een.70073
DOI: 10.1111/een.70073
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Mendely at https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/mnf6wf72zp/1.
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