Which factors may affect a choice of an oviposition place in nocturnal moths?

Answer 1

Hello,

Broadly speaking, preference of plant host for oviposition has environmental and genetic factors associated with the choice.

Environmental: plants emit volatiles known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have been associated with oviposition preference. In Manduca sexta for example, they prefer plants of the Solanaceae family, which have similar VOC profiles.

Genetic: insects detect VOCs using sophisticated olfactory systems. These systems are composed of chemosensory proteins. The proteins are encoded by the genome (DNA-->RNA-->Protein), which is under selection pressure, can undergo mutations, etc. Within a population of nocturnal moths, you may get differences in preference for plant hosts based on the genetic diversity present in any of these genes. As of 2012, 48 genes were identified to be involved in olfactory; by comparison Drosophila melanogaster has 120 genes.

These are just a couple examples and I suggest look for recent reviews in the literature by searching keywords of interest in Google Scholar.

Material I referenced:

1) Reisenman et al (2013) Species-Specific Effects of Herbivory on the Oviposition Behavior of the Moth Manduca sexta

2) Howlett et al (2012) Identification of chemosensory receptor genes in Manduca sexta and knockdown by RNA interference

Full disclosure: I’m an insect enthusiast and not expert. But I studied blow flies (Calliphoridae family) during undergrad for a couple years. A Sphingidae expert may have more to say.