Damage to Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Resulting from Oviposition by Periodical Cicada 1

Response of host plants to periodical cicada oviposition damage

“…In contrast to our results, the majority of previous studies examining the response of host plants to cicada oviposition have reported that the immediate eVects of oviposition damage (Smith and Linderman 1974) and the combination of oviposition and feeding by cicada nymphs (Hogmire et al 1990;Karban 1980;Koenig and Liebhold 2003;Smith and Linderman 1974) reduced host plant growth and reproductive output (van der Zwet et al 1997). Of these studies, only Hogmire et al (1990) correlated the extent of oviposition with growth characteristics of host plants, but their study was restricted to apple trees in a managed setting.…”

“…These results are consistent with previous studies reporting that cicada oviposition damage often kills host plant branches (Hogmire et al 1990;Smith and Linderman 1974;van der Zwet et al 1997;White 1981) but that the proportion of damaged branches that , Xower production (c), fruit production (d), and fruit mass (e) of the native (Acer, Cornus, and Cercis), and exotic (Lonicera, Ligustrum, and Elaeagnus) host plant species break and die diVers among host plant species (Cook et al 2001;Miller and Crowley 1998;Oberdorster and Grant 2006). In particular, Smith and Linderman (1974) found that Acer and Cornus species were especially susceptible to branch death and breakage following oviposition damage, and that branches continued to die through the winter following oviposition. In our study, diVerences among host species in the extent of branch death resulting from oviposition damage may reXect patterns of host species use by ovipositing cicadas as well as diVerences in the physiological responses of host species to oviposition damage.…”

“…The percent branch length used for host plants in our study (0.2-48.5%) falls well within this range. In addition, previous studies have correlated cicada oviposition damage with species-speciWc reductions in host plant performance (Hogmire et al 1990;Miller and Crowley 1998;Smith and Linderman 1974). Therefore, we hypothesized that we would observe considerable reductions in the growth and reproduction of host plants in our experiment.…”

“…Of these studies, only Hogmire et al (1990) correlated the extent of oviposition with growth characteristics of host plants, but their study was restricted to apple trees in a managed setting. Of the other studies examining host plant response to oviposition, Smith and Linderman (1974) made observations of ornamental plants, and Miller and Crowley (1998) did not directly measure the impact of oviposition on plant growth. In our study, we experimentally manipulated host plant exposure to cicadas in an ecologically relevant setting and quantiWed host plant responses using several measures of host plant growth and reproduction across three growing seasons.…”

“…Previous studies assessing host plant responses to cicada oviposition have been restricted to observational studies (Cook and Holt 2002;Miller and Crowley 1998), ornamental and agricultural plants (Hogmire et al 1990;Smith and Linderman 1974), and individual host species (Karban 1980) and genera (Koenig and Liebhold 2003). Studies focusing on the response of host plants to cicada oviposition generally indicate that oviposition causes visible damage to host plant branches (White 1981;Williams and Simon 1995), but there have been variable reports on the eVects of cicada oviposition on host plant growth and reproduction (Cook and Holt 2002;Crawley 1989;Hogmire et al 1990;Koenig and Liebhold 2003).…”