Oviposition patterns and larval damage by the invasive horse‐chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella on different species of Aesculus

Abstract

Preference–performance relationships are thought to be particularly important for sessile herbivores, such as leaf miners, whose choice of host plant is entirely determined by the ovipositing female. However, this relationship has seldom been examined between a non‐native herbivore and non‐native host plants. Leaf damage and oviposition patterns by the invasive horse‐chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimic, 1986 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), were investigated on 11 different species of Aesculus L. (Sapindaceae) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The tree species studied were of different continental origin and belonged to four different sections of the genus Aesculus. Oviposition was recorded on all the investigated species of Aesculus, with egg densities being greatest on Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Aesculus turbinata Blume. By contrast, mines were formed on only six out of the 11 studied species. There was a positive correlation between eggs laid on leaves of a species and levels of leaf tissue damage by C. ohridella, although eggs were laid on species on which larvae did not develop. Host suitability for C. ohridella was related to the phylogeny of the genus Aesculus. Species belonging to the section Aesculus were susceptible to the leaf miner; species in the section Pavia showed variable susceptibility; and species in the section Calothyrsus and Macrothyrsus were found to be resistant.

Chemical composition of horse-chestnut (Aesculus) leaves and their susceptibility to chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić

“…ex Camb.) Hook, Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt., Aesculus parviflora Walter, Aesculus assamica Griff., and Aesculus wilsoni Rehder, which are of Asian and/or of North American origin (Straw and Tilbury 2006;D'Costa et al 2013). Likewise, some species of North American origin (Aesculus sylvatica Bartram, Aesculus pavia L., Aesculus flava Aiton, Aesculus glabra Wild) are colonized by females that deposit eggs on the leaf surface but most larvae die during development (Kenis et al 2003;Ferracini et al 2010).…”

Phylogenetic test of speciation by host shift in leaf cone moths (Caloptilia) feeding on maples (Acer)

“…; D'Costa et al. ; Nakadai and Murakami ), which complicates analysis of the ancestral state regarding host use. In addition, individual host plant species cannot be considered as discrete character states because they are phylogenetically nonindependent (Pearse and Altermatt ).…”

“…Coding host plant associations at the family or genus level would simplify analysis because methods such as ancestral character state reconstructions are then applicable. However, many herbivorous insects use several closely related plant species (i.e., polyphagy) with varying levels of preference (Smiley 1978;Roininen and Tahvanainen 1989;Thompson 1998;Scheirs et al 2000;D'Costa et al 2013;Nakadai and Murakami 2015), which complicates analysis of the ancestral state regarding host use. In addition, individual host plant species cannot be considered as discrete character states because they are phylogenetically nonindependent (Pearse and Altermatt 2013).…”

Biological Flora of the British Isles:Aesculus hippocastanum

“…Grabenweger et al (2005) found C. ohridella to be abundant in natural stands of horsechestnut in Greece and Bulgaria, confirmed by Walas et al (2018) for some populations in Greece. Cameraria ohridella shows a preference for A. hippocastanum and the closely related A. turbinata; larval mortality is high on A. carnea (Freise, Heitland, & Sturm, 2003), and other Aesculus species are rarely predated (D'Costa, Koricheva, Straw, & Simmonds, 2013;D'Costa, Simmonds, Straw, Castagneyrol, & Koricheva, 2014;Ferracini, Curir, Dolci, Lanzotti, & Alma, 2010;Freise, Heitland, & Sturm, 2004;Straw & Tilbury, 2006) undoubtedly due to the high saponin levels in the leaves of these other species (Ferracini et al, 2010). The moths will occasionally mine Acer pseudoplatanus and A. platanoides when horse-chestnut is unavailable or as opportunistic infestations near heavily infested horse-chestnuts (Krehan, 1995;Péré, Augustin, Turlings, & Kenis, 2010;Straw & Tilbury, 2006).…”