The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura, is one of the most important agricultural insect pests. Plant essential oils can be considered potential candidates for eco-friendly control agents, as they exhibit insecticidal and feeding deterrent activity. The present study investigated the antifeedant and insecticidal activity of 29 essential oils. Their potential for habituation and association with the gustatory sensilla were also examined. In no-choice tests and contact-fumigation bioassays on third instar larvae, clove bud, fennel sweet, and lemongrass oils exhibited notable activities. Still, no direct correlation between insecticidal activity and feeding deterrence was observed. Second instar larvae were pre-exposed to those active oils to test the habituation effect. Larvae reared with lemongrass and clove bud oils showed gustatory habituation, whereas those with fennel sweet oil did not show any desensitization compared to the control. Comparable outcomes were observed in individuals exposed to the main constituents of the three oils. Additionally, the mixture of fennel sweet and clove bud oils showed a synergistic feeding deterrent effect. However, although statistically insignificant, potential habituation for the mixture was observed, and only robust inhibition of habituation was expected at physiologically high concentrations (FDI₉₀ + FDI₉₀). Electrophysiological studies showed that the response of the maxillary palp to citral decreased in the experienced group, while to trans-anethole, it was maintained at levels similar to the naive group. The reduction in feeding deterrence corresponded to the repeated exposure and desensitization of the maxillary palp, varying with the types of essential oils.

烟草地老虎（Spodoptera litura）是最重要的农业害虫之一。植物精油可被视为生态友好型防治剂的潜在候选者，因为它们具有杀虫和拒食活性。本研究调查了 29 种精油的拒食和杀虫活性。还检查了它们的习惯化潜力以及与味觉感受器的关联。在对三龄幼虫的无选择试验和接触熏蒸生物测定中，丁香花蕾、甜茴香和柠檬草油表现出显着的活性。尽管如此，仍然没有观察到杀虫活性和摄食威慑之间的直接相关性。将二龄幼虫预先暴露于这些活性油中以测试适应效果。用柠檬草和丁香花蕾油饲养的幼虫表现出味觉习惯，而用茴香甜油饲养的幼虫与对照组相比没有表现出任何脱敏作用。在接触这三种油的主要成分的个体中观察到了类似的结果。此外，茴香甜油和丁香花蕾油的混合物表现出协同的摄食威慑作用。然而，尽管在统计上不显着，但观察到混合物的潜在习惯化，并且仅在生理高浓度下（FDI ₉₀ + FDI ₉₀ ）预期对习惯化的强烈抑制。电生理学研究表明，在有经验的组中，上颌须对柠檬醛的反应有所下降，而对反式茴香脑的反应则维持在与初次接触组相似的水平。摄食威慑力的降低与上颌须的反复暴露和脱敏相对应，随精油的类型而变化。