Harmfulness and biological characters of a leaf beetle Gastrolina depressa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) to its host plant Pterocarya stenoptera (Fagales: Juglandaceae)

Abstract

Gastrolina depressa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has been found to damage many walnut plants in China. It prefers to feed on the annual leaves of an important economic plant, Pterocarya stenoptera (Fagales: Juglandaceae), and causes extensive cosmetic destruction, even plant death. Nevertheless, its biological characteristics are mostly unknown. In this study, we investigate the harmful and biological characteristics of G. depressa with different developmental stages. The results showed that G. depressa had four developmental stages: egg, larva (1st -3rd instar), pupa, and adult, the life history lasted nine days, with obvious overlapping generations. The food intake of the larvae increased with the increase of the instar, and the maximum food intake of the 3rd instar larvae was 448.19 mm2. The abdomen of the females was enlarged before oviposition, and the average number of eggs laid was 47.63 ± 13.53. Bioassay showed that there was no difference in the search time for the young (2.03, 1.25, 1.15, and 0.91 min) and old leaves (1.68, 1.15, 0.90, and 1.93 min) of P. stenoptera between 1st -3rd instar larvae and adults; the feeding preference of 1st -3rd instar larvae and adults for young leaves was higher than that to old leaves (23.33%, 26.67%, 33.33%, and 21.67%, respectively). The successful selection rates of 1st -3rd instar larvae and adults to young leaves (81.67%, 80%, 85.00%, and 70.00%, respectively) was higher than to old leaves (8.35%, 11.67%, 3.34%, and 11.67%, respectively).