Abstract
Melanization reflects not only body color variation but also environmental plasticity. It is a strategy that helps insects adapt to environmental change. Different color morphs may have distinct life history traits, e.g., development time, growth rate, and body weight. The green slender planthopper Saccharosydne procerus (Matsumura) is the main pest of water bamboo (Zizania latifolia). This insect has two color morphs. The present study explored the influence of photoperiod and its interaction with temperature in nymph stage on adult melanism. Additionally, the longevity, fecundity, mating rate, and hatching rate of S. procerus were examined to determine whether the fitness of the insect was influenced by melanism under different temperature and photoperiod. The results showed that a greater number of melanic morphs occurred if the photoperiod was extremely long. A two-factor ANOVA showed that temperature and photoperiod both have a significant influence on melanism. The percentages of variation explained by these factors were 45.53 and 48.71%, respectively. Moreover, melanic morphs had greater advantages than non-melanic morphs under an environmental regime of high temperatures and a long photoperiod, whereas non-melanic morphs were better adapted to cold temperatures and a short photoperiod. These results cannot be explained by the thermal melanism hypothesis. Thus, it may be unavailable to seek to explain melanism in terms of only one hypothesis.
Highlights
The green slender planthopper Saccharosydne procerus (Matsumura) is the principal pest of water bamboo (Zizania latifolia) and has been shown to damage rice (Oryza sativa) in some East Asian countries such as China and Vietnam
The results showed that long photoperiod is beneficial to improve the number of melanic morphs
A previous study has shown that the proportion of melanism in S. procerus increased under higher temperature in the laboratory
Summary
The green slender planthopper Saccharosydne procerus (Matsumura) is the principal pest of water bamboo (Zizania latifolia) and has been shown to damage rice (Oryza sativa) in some East Asian countries such as China and Vietnam. Some green slender planthoppers have a black spot on the terminus of the forewing (Figure 1). These phenotypes represent the melanic morph of the species (Yin et al, 2015). Melanism in this species does not change over the adult stage. Previous studies have shown that the proportion of adult melanic morphs is influenced by the environmental temperature in the nymph stage. Under high- temperature conditions, there are more melanic morphs (Mao, 2008; Kuang, 2012).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
