Host selection by the generalist aphid Myzus persicae (Hemiptera : Aphididae) and its subspecies specialized on tobacco, after being reared on the same host (original) (raw)
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Host plant selection and acceptance by aphids involves four consecutive steps: (1) prealighting behaviour, (2) leaf surface exploration and probing of subepidermal tissues, (3) deep probing of plant tissues, and (4) evaluation of the phloem sap. Host specialisation in aphids may involve not only different performances on potential hosts, but also different strategies for host selection and acceptance. Myzus persicae s.s. (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae) is one of the most polyphagous aphid species, although a tobacco-adapted subspecies, M. persicae nicotianae, has been described. These two taxa constitute a good system for studying the effect of host range on host selection strategies. We studied the first two steps in the host selection process by alate virginoparae of M. persicae s.s. and M. persicae nicotianae on host and non-host plants, using three types of behavioural assays: wind tunnel, olfactometry, and video-recording. Alate virginoparae of M. persicae nicotianae recognised and chose their host plant more efficiently than M. persicae s.s., on the basis of olfactory and visual cues, and factors residing at cuticular and subcuticular levels. Host recognition was evident before phloem tissues were contacted. Olfactory cues were apparently not involved in host selection by M. persicae s.s.
Ecological Entomology, 2006
1. This study first measured the effect of plant (radish, pepper, and wheat), aphid–plant combination (the green peach aphid Myzus persicae on pepper and radish, and the bird cherry‐oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi on wheat) and the host on which Aphidius colemani was reared (the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii on cucumber, M. persicae on radish and pepper, and R. padi on wheat) on host choice behaviour of the parasitoid and the performance of its offspring. Then, the effect of predator presence (Coccinella undecimpunctata larvae) on host preference of the wasps was tested.2. When reared on M. persicae on either radish or pepper, wasps preferred the aphid–plant combination from which they had emerged. Wasps reared on A. gossypii (naïve to all hosts offered) and R. padi preferred to parasitise M. persicae on radish and M. persicae on either radish or pepper, respectively. Rhopalosiphum padi on wheat was the least preferred and also the least suitable host, as determined by offspring body siz...