Responses of individual females of the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris to the odors of four different complexes of host larvae feeding on leaves were observed in a four-arm olfactometer. The plant-host complexes were composed of fall armyworm (FAW) larvae or cabbage looper (CL) larvae feeding on either corn or cotton seedlings. Prior to testing, each female was given a brief foraging experience on a plant-host complex and was then exposed to the odors of the same complex in the olfactometer. The experienced females responded to familiar odors in a dose-related manner, and these responses were virtually identical to all four complexes. Preferences for the odors of one of two plant-host complexes were tested in dual choice situations. Generally, FAW odors were preferred over CL odors and corn odors over cotton odors. A short foraging experience significantly affected the females' odor preferences in favor of the odors released by the experienced complex. none