Abstract
Adults of many insect species often become contaminated with pollen grains when feeding. Identification of plant hosts for M. separata moths could increase our understanding of their geographic origin and the coevolution of M. separata moths and their host plants. However, identifying the diet of noctuid moths using traditional direct observation is limited by their nocturnal and flight habits. In this study, we used core barcode markers and pollen morphology to identify pollen species. We found pollen from 13 plant species belonging to nine families on trapped M. separata moths, mainly from Angiosperm, Dicotyledoneae. Pollen was found on 14.4% and 12.3% of females and males, respectively, and the amount of pollen transported varied with the body part, with the most pollen on the proboscis. We were able to determine from this that the moths visited woody plants more than herbaceous plants, but not significantly so, and that they carried more pollen earlier in the migration season. In this study, we clarified the species and frequencies of pollen deposition on M. separata moths. These findings improve our understanding of the coevolution of the moths and their host plants. Identification of plant hosts for adult moths provides a new means of studying noctuid moth-host plant interactions, and informs the development of more efficient management practices for M. separata.
Highlights
Plant and insects have co-evolved all over the world into patterns of interactions that are often mutually beneficial [1, 2]
Most of plant hosts were identified from single moths and only several moths harbored more than one plant species
Thirteen pollen-source species were identified, from nine families on M. separate moths using a combination of DNA rbcL data and pollen morphology
Summary
Plant and insects have co-evolved all over the world into patterns of interactions that are often mutually beneficial [1, 2]. Plants depend on insects for pollination and simultaneously provide pollen, nectar and other plant exudates for insects [1]. Understanding the interactions between plants and insects is critical to interpreting ecological and evolutionary phenomena, and the first step is to understand the range of host plants used by specific herbivorous insects. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are probably the most diverse group of phytophagous insects [3], encompassing more than 155,000 recognized species [4,5]. Noctuidae is the largest family of Lepidoptera, containing over 40,000 currently described species [6]. Noctuids are a prominent element of terrestrial ecosystems, functioning as herbivores and pollinators, as well
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