Asymmetry of larval diet breadth and oviposition preference in<i>Leptinotarsa undecimlineata</i>

Eben, Astrid; López-Carretero, Antonio

doi:10.1111/j.1570-7458.2008.00696.x

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The importance of these factors, which affect choice behavior in other species as well, varies with the mobility of the larvae and the configuration of host plants in the environment (Pöykkö 2006). Thus, our results are consistent with the mobility hypothesis (Price 1994; Janz & Nylin 1997; Eben & López‐Carretero 2008); i.e. the ‘cost of choosing’ inhibits larval expression of preference.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Host‐Plant Choice Behavior at Multiple Life‐Cycle Stages: The Roles of Mobility and Early Growth in Decision‐Making

Bar‐Yam

Morse

2011

Ethology

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The choice of food plants often assumes critical importance for a herbivore. Although many studies have investigated host‐plant choice behavior, few have examined preferences (vs. growth and survival) at multiple stages of the life cycle, notwithstanding the importance of identifying the critical stage(s) in an animal’s life history. Fern moths Herpetogramma theseusalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) provide an excellent opportunity to test host‐plant choice at several stages. Fern moth larvae feed on distantly related ferns, sensitive Onoclea sensibilis and marsh fern Thelypteris palustris, and adults oviposit on both species. We examined newly hatched larvae, overwintered larvae and ovipositing females to test hypotheses predicting when host‐plant choice takes place (overwintering and mobility hypotheses: overwintering stage determines choice of substrate vs. most mobile stage chooses) and the basis for choice (optimal oviposition and enemy‐free space hypotheses: resource producing highest fecundity vs. lowest losses to enemies). We also evaluated the hypothesis that host‐associated fitness trade‐offs explain host specialization. Only ovipositing females, the most mobile stage, exhibited a clear preference (for marsh fern), consistent with the mobility hypothesis. However, their preference for marsh fern fits neither the optimal oviposition hypothesis nor the enemy‐free space hypothesis; although some larvae initially grew faster on marsh fern, adults reared from the two ferns did not differ significantly in mass and experienced marginally lower parasitism on sensitive fern. Thus, we found no host‐associated fitness trade‐offs. Overwintering losses in marsh fern plots exceeded those in sensitive fern, and mixed plots supported the most overwintered larvae. Preference for marsh fern suggests that early success drives host‐plant choice, an advantage that later disappears. Temporal variability may prevent closer fits to the hypotheses, because both ferns provide the moths with acceptable resources throughout their life cycles.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In partial contrast, the mobility hypothesis predicts that the most mobile life‐history stage will exhibit the strongest host‐plant choice. Price (1994), Janz & Nylin (1997), Eben & López‐Carretero (2008), and others present instances of adults with a narrower range of choice than their larvae can manage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host‐Plant Choice Behavior at Multiple Life‐Cycle Stages: The Roles of Mobility and Early Growth in Decision‐Making

Bar‐Yam

Morse

2011

Ethology

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“…Disconnections between larval performance and oviposition preference are not uncommon (e.g. Facknath, 2005;Brodbeck et al, 2007;Eben & Lopez-Carretero, 2008) and may occur, among other reasons, if females choose plants that increase their survivorship or fecundity rather than ones that improve individual larval performance (e.g. Scheirs et al, 2000;Brodbeck et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant‐mediated effects of host plant density on a specialist herbivore of Solanum carolinense

Halpern

Bednář

Chisholm

et al. 2013

Ecological Entomology

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Host plant density can affect insect herbivore oviposition behaviour, which can, in turn, affect both plant and herbivore populations. Because clear generalisations about density effects on oviposition remain elusive, a better understanding of underlying mechanisms is needed. One such mechanism is plant‐mediated effects (i.e. changes in plant traits with density), which are often suggested but rarely isolated experimentally. In an experiment directly manipulating host plant density (Solanum carolinense) in the field, oviposition by a specialist herbivore (Leptinotarsa juncta) declined as plant density increased. A greenhouse cage experiment isolated the effects of plant‐mediated traits by removing neighbour plants before introducing L. juncta females. Oviposition declined as host plant density increased, supporting the importance of plant‐mediated effects in this system. To determine whether food quality contributed to plant‐mediated effects, larval growth rates were measured on leaves from both field‐ and greenhouse‐grown plants. In both the field and the greenhouse experiments, larval growth rate was not significantly affected by plant density. It is concluded that plant‐mediated effects contribute to, but do not completely explain, the strong influence of density on oviposition in the field experiment. These results suggest that considering plant‐mediated effects may help to explain variability in herbivore responses to plant density.

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Relationship between adult and larval host plant selection and larval performance in the generalist moth, Trichoplusia ni

Shikano

Akhtar

Isman

2010

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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Adult oviposition preferences are expected to correlate with host plant suitability for the development of their offspring. For most lepidopteran species, this is particularly important as the hatching neonate larvae of many species are relatively immobile. Thus, the site of oviposition chosen by a female adult can greatly influence the probability of survival for her offspring. In the present study, we investigated the oviposition preference of adult Trichoplusia ni moths for six plant species to determine whether they could accurately rank the suitability of the plants for larval development. We also compared oviposition preferences to neonate larval acceptance and preference to determine whether the adult host range matched that of larval diet breath. Our results indicate that in two-choice and no-choice tests adult T. ni were able to rank the plants accurately, with the exception of anise hyssop. However, when given a choice of all six plants together, they laid more eggs on a plant that was not suitable for larval survival. Larvae accepted and fed on all plants in no-choice tests, and accurately ranked them according to larval performance. We conclude that neonate larvae are better able than adults to rank plants according to larval performance, and that larval diet breadth is wider than the range of plants accepted by adults. We also provide a discussion of the reduced accuracy of adult oviposition preference with increased plant choices.

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Asymmetry of larval diet breadth and oviposition preference inLeptinotarsa undecimlineata

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Host‐Plant Choice Behavior at Multiple Life‐Cycle Stages: The Roles of Mobility and Early Growth in Decision‐Making

Host‐Plant Choice Behavior at Multiple Life‐Cycle Stages: The Roles of Mobility and Early Growth in Decision‐Making

Plant‐mediated effects of host plant density on a specialist herbivore of Solanum carolinense

Relationship between adult and larval host plant selection and larval performance in the generalist moth, Trichoplusia ni

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