However, even polyphagous
insects are discriminatory with respect to food plant selection. Accurate
assessment of plant quality may be constrained by a shortage of information
or the ability to perceive and process this information due to neural limitations
of the insect brain. However, phenotypic plasticity in chemosensory perception
in response to previous experience can improve host plant location and
assessment of plant quality. Recent developments in neurophysiology have
elucidated some of the functional and evolutionary relationships between
chemosensory receptors and volatiles influencing insect behaviour.