Glandular Trichomes on Alfalfa Impede Searching Behavior of the Potato Leafhopper Parasitoid

New cultivars of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., have been released with glandular trichomes for resistance to potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris). Yet, the impact of the glandular trichomes on the primary natural enemy of the leafhopper, Anagrus nigriventris Girault, is unknown. We compared the host searching behavior of the egg parasitoid on four alfalfa clones varying in trichome characters. Female wasps were videotaped on Ranger, a susceptible clone with relatively sparse trichomes, B14, a resistant clone with dense but nonglandular trichomes, and FG12 and FG18, two resistant clones with glandular trichomes. Although the number of leafhopper eggs per stem exposed to wasps did not significantly differ among the four clones, the frequency of foraging and total foraging time were less on the two clones with glandular trichomes than on the two clones with nonglandular trichomes. In addition, an analysis of covariance demonstrated that, although the number of ovipositional probes increased with egg density on a stem, the number of probes on stems with glandular trichomes was significantly less than that on stems without glandular trichomes. The allocation of time by wasps among drumming, probing, and grooming behaviors was similar among the clones. Wasps tended to fly off of clones with glandular trichomes more often than off of clones with nonglandular trichomes. This study suggests that cultivars with glandular trichomes may interfere with host searching by A. nigriventris.