Innate Preferences for Radial Gradient Pattern Cues in the Cotton Bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera

Information is lacking regarding the visual cues used by Helicoverpa armigera moths during nectar feeding. Here, we investigated the preference for radial gradient patterns in H. armigera moths. The results indicated that both sexes shared a preference to plain flower models of blue and cyan. The radial gradient pattern (cyan as nectar guide color and blue as petal color) was more attractive than its component plain colors (cyan or blue), especially in male moths. Number of corolla petals did not influence the attractiveness of the cyan-blue pattern. The addition of a tertiary floral attractant to white-blue or cyan-blue radial gradient patterns could dramatically enhance the attractiveness of visual cues in males rather than females, suggesting that males gave a higher weight in olfactory modality than females gave, while females gave a higher weight in vision modality than males gave. All together, we found an optimal combination of floral cues in H. armigera sexes as follows: A tertiary floral attractant (2 μL dose of phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl acetate, and salicylaldehyde mixed in 26:15:2) added to white-blue radial gradient flower model (3 cm in diameter). To our knowledge, this is the first time that rose curve and radial gradient tools were used to simulate floral pattern in the studies of flower-visiting insects.