Information on host plant preference of agriculturally important insect pests, such as Lygus hesperus （Knight）, can be helpful in predicting its occurrence and future movement among crop and nonrop host plants. A fi...Information on host plant preference of agriculturally important insect pests, such as Lygus hesperus （Knight）, can be helpful in predicting its occurrence and future movement among crop and nonrop host plants. A field study was conducted during 2005 and 2006 to evaluate the host preference of Lygus to cotton and four other host plants in the Texas High Plains, including alfalfa （Medicago sativa L.）, wild sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.）, Russian thistle （Salsola iberica L.） and pigweed （Amaranthus palmeri L.）. Sampling for both nymphs and adults during 2005 （July to November） and 2006 （June to November） showed that alfalfa and Russian thistle were the two most preferred hosts out of the five hosts evaluated. Abundance of nymphs （numbers per 50 sweeps per host plant） during the sampling period also indicated the superior reproductive suitability of alfalfa and Russian thistle. Cotton appeared to be the least attractive host plant for Lygus when Russian thistle and alfalfa were available in the host mosaic. Seasonal abundance of Lygus was found to be lower during 2006 compared to 2005, which may be explained by the difference in rainfall patterns during these two years. In terms of species dominance, L. hesperus was the most dominant species in the sampled population followed by an inconsiderable fraction ofL. elisus and L. lineolaris.展开更多
In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant sy...In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance allows for a potential mother-offspring conflict, resulting in the female maximizing her fecundity at the expense of larval performance on suboptimal hosts. In two experiments, we aimed to investigate this relationship in the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, by comparing the relative acceptance of low- and medium-ranked hosts between females and neonate larvae both within individuals between life stages, and between mothers and their offspring. The study shows a variation between females in oviposition acceptance of low-ranked hosts, and that the degree of acceptance in the mothers correlates with the probability of acceptance of the same host in the larvae. We also found a negative relationship between stages within individuals as there was a higher acceptance of lower ranked hosts in females who had abandoned said host as a larva. Notably, however, neonate larvae of the comma butterfly did not unconditionally accept to feed from the least favorable host species even when it was the only food source. Our results suggest the possibility that the disadvantages associated with a generalist oviposition strategy can be decreased by larval participation in host plant choice.展开更多
The Asian longhorned beetle （ALB）, Anoplophora glabripennis （Motschulsky） is a polyphagous woodborer of hardwood trees. In order to well understand the oviposition preference of A. glabripennis emerging from diffe...The Asian longhorned beetle （ALB）, Anoplophora glabripennis （Motschulsky） is a polyphagous woodborer of hardwood trees. In order to well understand the oviposition preference of A. glabripennis emerging from different larval host tree species, we selected five common host tree species in the field and evaluated its oviposition preferences. The five host tree species are Acer negundo （AN）, Salix matsudana f. lobato-glandulosa （SM）, Populus nigra L. var. thevestina （Dode） Bean （PN）, P. simonii × P. pyramidalis cv. Opera 8277 （PS） and P. alba var. pyramidalis （PA）. Results show that adult beetles emerging from these five tree species almost have the same oviposition phenomenon. All adult beetles, except those emerging from PS, chewed the highest potential sites and laid most eggs on AN trees. Adult beetles emerging from AN, PN, PS and PA did not chew any sites nor laid any eggs on PA trees. These results showed that adult A. glabripennis emerging from the five host tree species did not show any clear oviposition preference for their larval host tree species in the field but they did present the most obvious preference for AN and the lowest preference for PA.展开更多
On the island of Sardinia the lepidopteran Papilio hospiton uses Ferula com- munis as exclusive host plant. However, on the small island of Tavolara, adult females lay eggs on Seseli tortuosum, a plant confined to the...On the island of Sardinia the lepidopteran Papilio hospiton uses Ferula com- munis as exclusive host plant. However, on the small island of Tavolara, adult females lay eggs on Seseli tortuosum, a plant confined to the island. When raised in captivity on Seseli only few larvae grew beyond the first-second instar. Host specificity of lepidopterans is determined by female oviposition preferences, but also by larval food acceptance, and adult and larval taste sensitivity may be related to host selection in both cases. Aim of this work was： （i） to study the taste sensitivity of larvae and ovipositing females to saps of Ferula and Seseli; （ii） to cross-compare the spike activity of gustatory receptor neurons （GRNs） to both taste stimuli; （iii） to evaluate the discriminating capability between the two saps and determine which neural code/s is/are used. The results show that： （i） the spike responses of the tarsal GRNs of adult females to both plant saps are not different and therefore they cannot discriminate the two plants; （ii） larval L-lat GRN shows a higher activity in response to Seseli than Ferula, while the opposite occurs for the phagostimulant neurons, and larvae may discriminate between the two saps by means of multiple neural codes; （iii） the number of eggs laid on the two plants is the same, but the larval growth performance is better on Ferula than Seseli. Taste sensitivity differences may explain the absence of a positive relationship between oviposition preferences by adult females and plant acceptance and growth performance by larvae.展开更多
Studies on the behavior of Helicoverpa armigera in relation to soybean cultivars expressing Bt proteins are fundamentally important for IPM. We determine the no-choice and feeding choice of H. armigera, the no-choice ...Studies on the behavior of Helicoverpa armigera in relation to soybean cultivars expressing Bt proteins are fundamentally important for IPM. We determine the no-choice and feeding choice of H. armigera, the no-choice and oviposition choice in different Bt and non-Bt soybeans cultivars. In the first step it was carried out the experiment to determine the no-choice and food choice in test for 12 Bt and non-Bt soybean cultivars. Simultaneously the consumption was determined. In a second step it was evaluated the no-choice and oviposition choice in different soybean cultivars. Helicoverpa armigera caterpillars showed neither attractiveness and preference for food nor attractiveness and oviposition preference for Bt and non-Bt soybean leaves when simultaneously contrasting the tested cultivars. This study showed that Bt toxin did not influence the oviposition preference, and H. armigera adults did not differentiate Bt and non-Bt soybean cultivars for oviposition indicating no behavioral preference. Third instar caterpillars showed no discrimination between Bt and non-Bt soybean leaves. Research in this area must focus on the possibility of widespread planting of genetically modified soybeans containing the Bt protein, which is associated with selection pressure and the behavior of pest species in relation to their hosts, as well as on the adequacy of management tactics that is able to prevent the loss of technology efficiency.展开更多
The preferences of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius for five host plants:poinsettia, tomato, cabbage,sweet potato and flowering Chinese cabbage, was tested using a Y-tube olfactometer and a desiccator in the labo-ratory. The ...The preferences of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius for five host plants:poinsettia, tomato, cabbage,sweet potato and flowering Chinese cabbage, was tested using a Y-tube olfactometer and a desiccator in the labo-ratory. The results show that B. tabaci adults were attracted by the odors of the five plants. The order of prefer-ence was poinsettia > flowering Chinese cabbage > sweet potato > cabbage > tomato. Preference was extremely sig-nificant between poinsettia and the other four plants, and between flowering Chinese cabbage, cabbage and toma-to. There was no significant difference in preference for flowering Chinese cabbage and sweet potato, sweet pota-to, cabbage and tomato or between cabbage and tomato.展开更多
文摘Information on host plant preference of agriculturally important insect pests, such as Lygus hesperus （Knight）, can be helpful in predicting its occurrence and future movement among crop and nonrop host plants. A field study was conducted during 2005 and 2006 to evaluate the host preference of Lygus to cotton and four other host plants in the Texas High Plains, including alfalfa （Medicago sativa L.）, wild sunflower （Helianthus annuus L.）, Russian thistle （Salsola iberica L.） and pigweed （Amaranthus palmeri L.）. Sampling for both nymphs and adults during 2005 （July to November） and 2006 （June to November） showed that alfalfa and Russian thistle were the two most preferred hosts out of the five hosts evaluated. Abundance of nymphs （numbers per 50 sweeps per host plant） during the sampling period also indicated the superior reproductive suitability of alfalfa and Russian thistle. Cotton appeared to be the least attractive host plant for Lygus when Russian thistle and alfalfa were available in the host mosaic. Seasonal abundance of Lygus was found to be lower during 2006 compared to 2005, which may be explained by the difference in rainfall patterns during these two years. In terms of species dominance, L. hesperus was the most dominant species in the sampled population followed by an inconsiderable fraction ofL. elisus and L. lineolaris.
文摘In most phytophagous insects, the larval diet strongly affects future fitness and in species that do not feed on plant parts as adults, larval diet is the main source of nitrogen. In many of these insect-host plant systems, the immature larvae are considered to be fully dependent on the choice of the mothers, who, in turn, possess a highly developed host recognition system. This circumstance allows for a potential mother-offspring conflict, resulting in the female maximizing her fecundity at the expense of larval performance on suboptimal hosts. In two experiments, we aimed to investigate this relationship in the polyphagous comma butterfly, Polygonia c-album, by comparing the relative acceptance of low- and medium-ranked hosts between females and neonate larvae both within individuals between life stages, and between mothers and their offspring. The study shows a variation between females in oviposition acceptance of low-ranked hosts, and that the degree of acceptance in the mothers correlates with the probability of acceptance of the same host in the larvae. We also found a negative relationship between stages within individuals as there was a higher acceptance of lower ranked hosts in females who had abandoned said host as a larva. Notably, however, neonate larvae of the comma butterfly did not unconditionally accept to feed from the least favorable host species even when it was the only food source. Our results suggest the possibility that the disadvantages associated with a generalist oviposition strategy can be decreased by larval participation in host plant choice.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No. 30571503） the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in Universities （IRT0607）.
文摘The Asian longhorned beetle （ALB）, Anoplophora glabripennis （Motschulsky） is a polyphagous woodborer of hardwood trees. In order to well understand the oviposition preference of A. glabripennis emerging from different larval host tree species, we selected five common host tree species in the field and evaluated its oviposition preferences. The five host tree species are Acer negundo （AN）, Salix matsudana f. lobato-glandulosa （SM）, Populus nigra L. var. thevestina （Dode） Bean （PN）, P. simonii × P. pyramidalis cv. Opera 8277 （PS） and P. alba var. pyramidalis （PA）. Results show that adult beetles emerging from these five tree species almost have the same oviposition phenomenon. All adult beetles, except those emerging from PS, chewed the highest potential sites and laid most eggs on AN trees. Adult beetles emerging from AN, PN, PS and PA did not chew any sites nor laid any eggs on PA trees. These results showed that adult A. glabripennis emerging from the five host tree species did not show any clear oviposition preference for their larval host tree species in the field but they did present the most obvious preference for AN and the lowest preference for PA.
文摘On the island of Sardinia the lepidopteran Papilio hospiton uses Ferula com- munis as exclusive host plant. However, on the small island of Tavolara, adult females lay eggs on Seseli tortuosum, a plant confined to the island. When raised in captivity on Seseli only few larvae grew beyond the first-second instar. Host specificity of lepidopterans is determined by female oviposition preferences, but also by larval food acceptance, and adult and larval taste sensitivity may be related to host selection in both cases. Aim of this work was： （i） to study the taste sensitivity of larvae and ovipositing females to saps of Ferula and Seseli; （ii） to cross-compare the spike activity of gustatory receptor neurons （GRNs） to both taste stimuli; （iii） to evaluate the discriminating capability between the two saps and determine which neural code/s is/are used. The results show that： （i） the spike responses of the tarsal GRNs of adult females to both plant saps are not different and therefore they cannot discriminate the two plants; （ii） larval L-lat GRN shows a higher activity in response to Seseli than Ferula, while the opposite occurs for the phagostimulant neurons, and larvae may discriminate between the two saps by means of multiple neural codes; （iii） the number of eggs laid on the two plants is the same, but the larval growth performance is better on Ferula than Seseli. Taste sensitivity differences may explain the absence of a positive relationship between oviposition preferences by adult females and plant acceptance and growth performance by larvae.
文摘Studies on the behavior of Helicoverpa armigera in relation to soybean cultivars expressing Bt proteins are fundamentally important for IPM. We determine the no-choice and feeding choice of H. armigera, the no-choice and oviposition choice in different Bt and non-Bt soybeans cultivars. In the first step it was carried out the experiment to determine the no-choice and food choice in test for 12 Bt and non-Bt soybean cultivars. Simultaneously the consumption was determined. In a second step it was evaluated the no-choice and oviposition choice in different soybean cultivars. Helicoverpa armigera caterpillars showed neither attractiveness and preference for food nor attractiveness and oviposition preference for Bt and non-Bt soybean leaves when simultaneously contrasting the tested cultivars. This study showed that Bt toxin did not influence the oviposition preference, and H. armigera adults did not differentiate Bt and non-Bt soybean cultivars for oviposition indicating no behavioral preference. Third instar caterpillars showed no discrimination between Bt and non-Bt soybean leaves. Research in this area must focus on the possibility of widespread planting of genetically modified soybeans containing the Bt protein, which is associated with selection pressure and the behavior of pest species in relation to their hosts, as well as on the adequacy of management tactics that is able to prevent the loss of technology efficiency.
文摘The preferences of Bemisia tabaci Gennadius for five host plants:poinsettia, tomato, cabbage,sweet potato and flowering Chinese cabbage, was tested using a Y-tube olfactometer and a desiccator in the labo-ratory. The results show that B. tabaci adults were attracted by the odors of the five plants. The order of prefer-ence was poinsettia > flowering Chinese cabbage > sweet potato > cabbage > tomato. Preference was extremely sig-nificant between poinsettia and the other four plants, and between flowering Chinese cabbage, cabbage and toma-to. There was no significant difference in preference for flowering Chinese cabbage and sweet potato, sweet pota-to, cabbage and tomato or between cabbage and tomato.
