Abstract
Volatile constituents of leaves of acceptable and unacceptable plants evoke multiunit responses from the antennal olfactory sensilla of larvae of the eastern tent caterpillar. Electrophysiological investigation of the activities of three of the sixteen antennal olfactory receptors revealed that different combinations of the three responded to the various plants. In those instances where the same combination responded to more than one species of plant, the ratios of responses measured as frequency of action potentials were often different. Thus, discrimination of different plants theoretically could be based upon the absolute number of cells responding and/or the ratios of frequencies.
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This work was suspported by National Science Foundation grants BNS 76-02172 and BNS 78-01178.
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Dethier, V.G. Responses of some olfactory receptors of the eastern tent caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum) to leaves. J Chem Ecol 6, 213–220 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987540
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987540