Differences in foliage affect performance of the lappet moth, Streblote panda: Implications for species fitness wasp Trichogramma brassicae
1Departamento de Protección Vegetal, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales
(Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas). C/ Serrano 115 dpdo. 28006. Madrid, Spain
2Crop Protection Area. IFAPA Centro-“Las Torres-Tomejil”. Apdo. Oficial. 41200. Alcalá del Río, Sevilla, Spain
Abstract
Implications for adults’ fitness through the foliage effects of five different host plants on larval survival and performance of the lappet moth, Streblote panda Hübner (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), as well as their effect on species fitness were assayed. Larvae were reared under controlled laboratory conditions on excised foliage. Long-term developmental experiments were done using first instar larvae to adult emergence, and performance experiments were done using fifth instar larvae. Survival, development rates, and food use were measured. Foliar traits analysis indicated that leaves of different host plants varied, significantly affecting larvae performance and adult fitness. Pistacia lentiscus L. (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), Arbutus unedo L. (Ericales: Ericaceae), and Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss. (Fabales: Fabaceae) were the most suitable hosts. Larvae fed on Tamarix gallica L. (Caryophyllales: Tamaricaceae) and Spartium junceum L. (Fabales: Fabaceae) showed the lowest survival, rates of development and pupal and adult weight. In general, S. panda showed a relatively high capacity to buffer low food quality, by reducing developmental rates and larvae development thereby reaching the minimum pupal weight that ensures adult survival. Less suitable plants seem to have indirect effects on adult fitness, producing smaller adults that could disperse to other habitats.
Keywords: food utilization, habitat quality, insect-host plant interactions, larvae development, nutritional indices
Correspondence: adavid.calvo@ccma.csic.es, bjosem.molina@juntadeandalucia.es
Received: 5 August 2009 | Accepted: 19 April 2009 | Published: 11 October 2010
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 177
Calvo D, Molina JM. 2010. Differences in foliage affect performance of the lappet moth, Streblote panda: Implications for species fitness. Journal of Insect Science 10:177, available online: insectscience.org/10.177
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