Rice Plants May Protect Neighbouring Non- Rice Plants Against the Striped Stem Borer,

The area planted with insect-resistant genetically engineered crops expressing () genes has greatly increased in many areas of the world. Given the nearby presence of non- crops (including those planted as refuges) and non-crop habitats, pests targeted by the trait have a choice between and non- crops or weeds, and their host preference may greatly affect insect management and management of pest resistance to proteins. In this study, we examined the oviposition preference of the target pest of rice, , for versus non- rice plants as influenced by previous damage caused by larvae. The results showed that females had no oviposition preference for undamaged or non- plants but were repelled by conspecific-damaged plants whether or non- Consequently, egg masses were more numerous on plants than on neighbouring non- plants both in greenhouse and in field experiments due to the significantly greater caterpillar damage on non- plants. We also found evidence of poorer performance of larvae on conspecific-damaged rice plants when compared with undamaged plants. GC-MS analyses showed that larval damage induced the release of volatiles that repelled mated females in wind tunnel experiments These findings suggest that rice could act as a dead-end trap crop for and thereby protect adjacent non- rice plants. The results also indicate that the oviposition behaviour of target pest females should be considered in the development of resistance management strategies.