Changes in aphid probing behaviour as a function of insect age and plant resistance level

Abstract

Aphids perform a series of behaviours to assess feeding suitability and, hence, to select a plant. Little information, however, is available on such behaviour after aphids have settled on a plant. Observation of probing behaviour over an extended period of time can improve our understanding of insect-plant interactions and is instrumental in the study of crop resistance. Here, we assessed the influence of aphid age and plant resistance level on aphid behaviour. An electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique was implemented to monitor the behaviour of potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, alates on potato, Solanum tuberosum, and on both a susceptible and a resistant genotype of a wild Solanum species, S. chomatophilum. The behaviour was measured at daily intervals for the first seven days following adult emergence. The results indicated independent and interacting effects of aphid age and plant genotype on probing behaviour. Some behavioural discrepancies between susceptible and resistant genotypes were only observed after the first day, thus highlighting the limits of punctual one-day behavioural studies to assess plant resistance mechanisms. Our work supports the hypothesis that aphids continuously adapt their behaviour to the plant characteristics.