Transgenerational inheritance of learned preferences for novel host plant odors in Bicyclus anynana butterflies

Many phytophagous insects have strong preferences for their host plants, which they recognize via odors, making it unclear how novel host preferences develop in the course of insect diversification. Insects may learn to prefer new host plants via exposure to their odors and pass this learned preference to their offspring. We tested this hypothesis by examining larval odor preferences before and after feeding them with leaves coated with control and novel odors and by examining odor preferences again in their offspring. Larvae of the parental generation developed a preference for two of these odors over their development. These odor preferences were also transmitted to the next generation. Offspring of butterflies fed on these new odors chose these odors more often than offspring of butterflies fed on control leaves. In addition, offspring of butterflies fed on banana odors had a significant naïve preference for the banana odors in contrast to the naïve preference for control leaves show...许多植食性昆虫（phytophagous insects）对其寄主植物（host plant）有着强烈的偏好，它们通过气味识别寄主植物，这使得学界难以阐明在昆虫类群分化过程中，全新的寄主偏好是如何演化形成的。昆虫可通过接触新寄主植物的气味，习得对新寄主的偏好，并将这种习得的偏好传递给后代。我们通过以下实验验证这一假说：先让幼虫取食涂抹了对照气味与全新气味的叶片，分别检测其取食前后的气味偏好，随后再次检测其子代的气味偏好。亲代幼虫在发育过程中，逐渐对其中两种气味产生偏好。这类气味偏好同样可传递至子代。取食过带全新气味叶片的蝴蝶，其子代对该气味的选择频率显著高于取食对照叶片的蝴蝶子代。此外，取食过香蕉气味叶片的蝴蝶子代，对香蕉气味表现出显著的天生偏好（naïve preference），而对照组子代则表现出对对照叶片的天生偏好……