###### Abstract
Erinea can be induced in several plant tissues that have not hardened yet, such as new leaf shoots, petioles, flower buds, and fruitlets [32]. LEM management has focused on removing LEM infested plant parts by pruning [33; 34] followed by repeated pesticide (sulfur) applications to protect the new shoots [32; 35]. However, these strategies are insufficient to mitigate LEM damage, which can reduce yields by up to 80% [36; 37]. To date, it is unknown how and why LEM induces the formation of erinea. Recently, a growing body of literature shows that the erinea are a perfect environment for LEM to hide and acquire protection from biotic and abiotic stressors. For instance, pesticides eliminated nearly all LEM when applied directly [38], but not when mites were sheltered inside the erinea [39]. Moreover, although several predatory mites have been found associated with LEM erinea [40; 41; 42; 43] evidence is lacking on their ability to prey on mites inside the erinea. Hence, control methods focused on forcing the mites to exit the erinea to target them with pesticides or natural enemies can contribute to managing this mite pest. In addition, it is unknown what drives the mites to disperse to new young tissues within and among plants. One possibility is that volatile compounds emitted by immature lychee tissues may trigger their initial dispersal. Previous studies have explored the odor and flavor of lychee fruits, and described them as honey, rose-floral and citrus-fruity [44; 45]. Volatiles emitted by fresh fruit [44; 46; 47], leaves [48], juices [44; 49], wines [50] and canned fruit [51] of several lychee cultivars have been characterized. Although the volatile extraction methods varied among different studies, all reported terpenoids and alcohols as major volatile components of lychee fruit [44; 45; 47; 52; 53] and young and old lychee leaves [48]. Recently, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [54] compared methanolic extracts from non-infested and LEM-infested lychee leaflets to determine which metabolic processes of the leaf were altered by LEM. Leaf extracts were rich in sugars, terpenoids, linoleic acid esters, vitamins, antioxidants, glycerol, and steroids. However, it remains to be investigated which VOCs are emitted by lychee tissues distinctly targeted by LEM, i.e., new leaf shoots, leaves, flower buds, and fruitlets, and which HIPVs are synthesized by the plant after LEM infestation. In addition, LEM preferences to lychee VOCs or HIPVs are unknown and their preferences for specific plant tissues have not been studied. In line with this goal, laboratory bioassays were performed to assess the importance of volatile compounds in the LEM-lychee interaction. First, the role of VOCs was investigated by characterizing volatile profiles of uninfested lychee plant tissues (floral buds, open flowers, leaves, and new leaf shoots) and LEM's preference for them. Second, potential HIPVs were assessed by identifying volatiles of plants with different levels of LEM infestation (initial, intermediate, heavy, and overexploited). Third, dual-choice bioassays were carried out to investigate LEM's attraction or repellence to the most abundant lychee volatiles. The end goal of this study was to address the role of the key VOCs and HIPVs in LEM behavior. This information may help to develop management strategies that force the mites to leave the erinea and/or lure natural enemies to LEM infested plants.