Abstract
Understanding how host plant chemistry affects invasive insects is crucial for determining the physiological mechanism of host use and predicting invasive insect outbreak and damage on hosts. Here, we examined the effects of plant nutrition and defensive chemicals on host preference and performance of adults and larvae of the invasive potato tuberworm, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller; Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), on four native (Solanum tuberosum, Nicotiana tabacum, Datura stramonium, and Solanum lycopersicum) and three new (Solanum melongena, Physalis alkekengi, and Lycium barbarum) host plants. We found that adults preferred to oviposit on S. tuberosum and N. tabacum leaves and the soil around these native host plants over other hosts. Larvae performed well on S. tuberosum and N. tabacum, reaching higher pupa weight and having better survival. Larvae performed poorly on S. melongena, S. lycopersicum, P. alkekengi, D. stramonium, and L. barbarum, with lower pupa weight and lower survival. Solanum tuberosum and N. tabacum had higher leaf soluble proteins than other plants and lower leaf total phenolics than S. lycopersicum, D. stramonium, and L. barbarum. Moreover, carbon content and soluble protein were positively associated with larval survival, while defensive traits (lignin and total phenolics) negatively affected larval survival. These findings provide insights into understanding of biochemical mechanisms of interactions between invasive insects and host plants, indicating the importance of considering plant chemistry when assessing invasive insect host use and damage.
Highlights
Biological invasions threaten global economic development and ecological and food security, especially when invasive pest species cause loss of crop yields (Huber et al, 2002; Pimentel et al, 2005; Worner and Gevrey, 2006)
We ask the following questions: (1) what are the differences in performance and preference of P. operculella among native and novel host plants? and (2) does host chemistry lead to a difference in the larval performance of P. operculella? To answer these questions, we examined the oviposition preference of adult tuber moth and the larval developmental characteristics on seven solanaceous plants
We found that the number of eggs and larval survival were higher on potato and tobacco plants, which had higher soluble protein and lower total phenolics, while the reverse was true for tomato, datura, and wolfberry
Summary
Biological invasions threaten global economic development and ecological and food security, especially when invasive pest species cause loss of crop yields (Huber et al, 2002; Pimentel et al, 2005; Worner and Gevrey, 2006). The introduction, establishment, and colonization of alien insect species are determined by many factors, for example, host availability and food quality (Burrack et al, 2013; Kenis et al, 2016; Cowie et al, 2019). In such invasive processes, host plant species can significantly influence adult oviposition preference and larval developmental performance of phytophagous insect (Abbes et al, 2016). Plant primary and secondary metabolisms determine host plant quality and potentially influence feeding performance and life history traits of phytophagous insect. Understanding of how these phytochemicals affect invasive insect performance is critical in predicting invasive insect invasiveness
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