Do options matter? Settling behavior, stylet sheath counts, and oviposition of Aster leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in two-choice bioassays
Date
2022-04-22
Authors
Romero, Berenice
Olivier, Chrystel
Wist, Tyler
Prager, Sean
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
ORCID
Type
Article
Degree Level
Abstract
Polyphagous insects are characterized by a broad diet comprising plant species from different taxonomic groups. Within these insects, migratory species are of particular interest, given that they encounter unpredictable environments, with abrupt spatial and temporal changes in plant availability and density. Aster leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Macrosteles quadrilineatus Forbes) arrive in the Canadian Prairies in spring and early summer and are the main vector of a prokaryotic plant pathogen known as Aster Yellows Phytoplasma (AYp). Host choice selection behaviour of Aster leafhoppers was evaluated through two-choice bioassays, using domesticated and wild plants species commonly found in the Canadian Prairies. Leaf tissues from these plants were collected and stained to quantify the number of stylet sheaths and eggs. To assess possible effects due to insect infection, two-choice bioassays were repeated using leafhoppers infected with AYp and a subset of plant species. When two domesticated or wild plant species were presented together, similar numbers of uninfected Aster leafhoppers were observed on both plant species in most combinations. In domesticated-wild plant bioassays, uninfected Aster leafhoppers preferred to settle on the domesticated species. There was little to no association between settling preferences and stylet sheath and egg counts. These findings provide a better understanding of AY epidemiology and suggest that after domesticated species germination, leafhoppers could move from nearby wild plants into the preferred cereals to settle on them, influencing the risk of AYp infection in some of these species.
Description
Keywords
Leafhoppers, Phytoplasmas, Two-choice tests, Stylet sheath, Oviposition, Preference-performance hypothesis
Citation
Berenice Romero, Chrystel Olivier, Tyler Wist, Sean M Prager, Do Options Matter? Settling Behavior, Stylet Sheath Counts, and Oviposition of Aster Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Two-Choice Bioassays, Environmental Entomology, Volume 51, Issue 2, April 2022, Pages 460–470, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvab148
Degree
Department
Program
Advisor
Committee
Citation
Berenice Romero, Chrystel Olivier, Tyler Wist, Sean M Prager, Do Options Matter? Settling Behavior, Stylet Sheath Counts, and Oviposition of Aster Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in Two-Choice Bioassays, Environmental Entomology, Volume 51, Issue 2, April 2022, Pages 460–470, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvab148
Part Of
item.page.relation.ispartofseries
DOI
10.1093/ee/nvab148