OVIPOSITIONAL BEHAVIOR OF Bracon mellitor SAY (HYMENOPTERA BRACONIDAE), A PARASITOID OF BOLL WEEVIL (Anthonomus grandis Boh.)

Female Bracon mellitor Say responded to the frass of diet-reared boll weevil larvae by probing with the ovipositor. Similar responses were elicited by the hexane and chloroform-methanol fractions after differential extraction of boll weevil feces. The active component of the chloroform-methanol fraction was identified as methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (methyl parasept). Because the methyl parasept is an artificial component of the diet, the results suggest that the parasitoid response may be associatively learned. The response to methyl parasept decreased with time in the absence of reinforcement. Results demonstrate that certain chemicals may release behavior normally evoked by kairomones, and may interfere with the isolation of natural kairomones.