Chemosensory basis of feeding and oviposition behaviour in herbivorous insects: a glance at the periphery

Recent advances in our understanding of the relationship between chemosensory and behavioural responses to phytochemicals come from a number of studies on ovipositional and food selection behaviour of flies, butterflies, moths and beetles. Establishing input‐output relationships has provided insight into the way in which the activity of chemoreceptors is translated into host‐plant selection behaviour. This was achieved for both the qualitative contrast acceptance/rejection and for quantifiable preference hierarchies. By now it is clear that the subtlety of coding the complex phytochemical profiles offered by potential host plants relies on across‐fibre patterns or ensemble‐firing of taste neurons. Progress along these lines depends on unravelling processing pathways in the central nervous system, still a largely unexplored area in herbivorous insects. Increased interest can be noted for the mechanisms operating during the most peripheral events of chemoreception: the interaction of phytochemical and chemoreceptor, determining the specificity of recognition. Evidence for ‘peripheral integration’ has accumulated. Deterrent receptors have an especially puzzling nature. Although such cells respond to a wide array of structurally diverse secondary plant metabolites, their sensitivity profile differs between closely related species. To what extent membrane‐bound receptor molecules are involved and what degree of specificity is conferred by these, is largely unknown. Sensitivity to a certain group or class of compounds is determined by single genes in several cases. This allows for a scenario in which single gene mutations affect stimulus‐receptor interactions, which might concurrently affect host‐plant selection behaviour.