Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T18:58:36.823Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Host shift to peas in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and response of its parasitoid Diadegma mollipla (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

A. Rossbach ,
B. Löhr  and
S. Vidal
A. Rossbach
Affiliation:
Institute of Plant Pathology and Plant Protection, Entomological Section, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Grisebachstrasse 6, 37075 Goettingen, Germany International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
B. Löhr
Affiliation:
International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
S. Vidal*
Affiliation:
Institute of Plant Pathology and Plant Protection, Entomological Section, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Grisebachstrasse 6, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
*
*Fax: +49 551 3912105 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Host shifts in herbivorous insects are thought to sometimes provide enemy-free space on the novel host plant. A population of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), an oligophagous pest on crucifers, recently shifted to sugar snap- and snowpeas (Pisum sativum) in Kenya, resulting in heavy damage to these crops. The impact of this host shift on the interaction with Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren), one of the most frequent parasitoid species attacking P. xylostella in this area, was investigated. Parasitism rates and development of two strains of D. mollipla, one reared from a cabbage-feeding strain of P. xylostella and the second from the new pea-feeding strain, changed based on the host-plant that P. xylostella fed upon, with both parasitoid strains more effective on the novel host plant. Parasitism by the cabbage-D. mollipla strain on P. xylostella infesting peas was four times higher than on P. xylostella infesting cabbage when a single plant species was present. However, when both crops were offered together, the level of parasitism dropped to the level seen when cabbage was offered alone. Diadegma mollipla developed on both hosts, but cabbage-D. mollipla had a longer total development time. Pupae of cabbage-feeding P. xylostella were significantly heavier than pupae of pea-feeding P. xylostella and parasitism had no influence on these differences. Diadegma mollipla preferred to parasitize the pea-feeding P. xylostella. Thus, the host shift by P. xylostella to a novel host plant did not necessarily provide enemy-free space, with the parasitoid species tested. The implications of these findings for the host–parasitoid relationship are discussed.

Keywords

Plutella xylostelladiamondback mothcrucifershost shiftDiadegma molliplaPisum sativumKenya
Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 96 , Issue 4 , August 2006 , pp. 413 - 419
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agelopoulos, N.G. & Keller, M.A. (1994) Plant–natural enemy association in the tritrophic system, Cotesia rubecula – Pieris rapae –Brassicaceae (Cruciferae): I. Sources of infochemicals, Journal of Chemical Ecology 20, 1725–1734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akol, A.M., Njagi, P.G.N., Sithanantham, S. & Mueke, J.M. (2003) Effects of two neem insecticide formulations on the attractiveness, acceptability and suitability of diamondback moth larvae to the parasitoid, Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren) (Hym., Ichneumonidae), Journal of Applied Entomology 127, 325–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Azidah, A.A., Fitton, M.G. & Quicke, D.L.J. (2000) Identification of the Diadegma species (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae) attacking the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), Bulletin of Entomological Research 90, 375–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, N.J. & Cameron, P.J. (1990) Comparison of lepidopteran pest populations and their parasitoids in three vegetable brassicas. pp. 21–25 in Proceedings of the 43rd New Zealand Weed and Pest Control Conference Palmerston North, New Zealand.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernays, E.A. & Chapman, R.F. (1994) Host-plant selection by phytophagous insects 312 pp. New York, Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broodryk, S.W. (1971) The biology of Diadegma stellenboschense (Cameron) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a parasitoid of potato tuber moth, Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa 34, 413–423.Google Scholar
Bush, G.L. (1994) Sympatric speciation in animals: new wine in old bottles, Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9, 285–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, A.J. (1987) Effects of experiences and kairomones on searching behaviour of Diadegma eucerophaga (Ichneumonidae) for Plutella xylostella (Plutellidae) on brassica plants, Mededelingen Faculteit Landbouwwetenschappen Universiteit Gent 52, 403–411.Google Scholar
De Moraes, C.M., Lewis, W.J., Pare, P.W., Alborn, H.T. & Tumlinson, J.H. (1998) Herbivore-infested plants selectively attract parasitoids, Nature 393, 570–573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drost, Y.C., Lewis, W.J., Zanen, P.O. & Keller, M.A. (1986) Beneficial arthropod behavior mediated by airborne semiochemicals. Flight behavior and influence of pre-flight handling of Microplitis croceipes (Cresson), Journal of Chemical Ecology 12, 1247–1262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrlich, P.R. & Raven, P.H. (1964) Butterflies and plants: a study in coevolution, Evolution 18, 586–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, L.R., Letourneau, D.K., Eisenbach, J. & VanNouhuys, S. (1990) Parasitism rates and sex ratios of a parasitoid wasp: effects of herbivore and plant quality, Oecologia 83, 414–419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, L.R., Kester, K.M. & Eisenbach, J. (1996) Direct and indirect responses of parasitoids to plants: sex ratio, plant quality and herbivore diet breadth, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 80, 289–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godfray, H.C.J. (1994) Parasitoids: behavioral and evolutionary ecology. Monographs in Behavior and Ecology. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, V.K. (1974) Studies on certain porizontine ichneumonids reared from economic hosts (parasitic Hymenoptera), Oriental Insects 3, 99–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey, J.A., Jervis, M.A., Gols, R., Jiang, N. & Vet, L.E.M. (1999) Development of the parasitoid, Cotesia rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Pieris rapae and Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): evidence for host regulation, Journal of Insect Physiology 45, 173–182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Idris, A.B. & Grafius, E. (1996) Effects of wild and cultivated host plants on oviposition, survival, and development of diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and its parasitoid Diadegma insulare (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Environmental Entomology 25, 825–833.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeffries, M.J. & Lawton, J.H. (1984) Enemy-free space and the structure of biological communities, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 23, 269–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kroschel, J. (1993) Integrierter Pflanzenschutz im Kartoffelanbau der Republik Yemen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der integrierten biologischen Bekämpfung der Kartoffelmotte (Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller)). Josef Margraf, Weikersheim.Google Scholar
Löhr, B. (2001) Diamondback moth on peas, really, Biocontrol News and Information 19 38N – 39NGoogle Scholar
Mackauer, M., Sequeira, M. & Otto, M. (1997) Growth and development in parasitoid wasps: adaptation to variable host resources. pp. 191–203 in Dettner, K., Bauer, G. & Völkl, W. (Eds) Ecological studies: vertical food web interactions: evolutionary patterns and driving forces. Vol. 130. Berlin, Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murchie, A.K., Smart, L.E. & Williams, I.H. (1997) Responses of Dasineura brassicae and its parasitoids Platygaster subuliformis and Omphale clypealis to field traps baited with organic isothiocyanates, Journal of Chemical Ecology 23, 917–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odour, G.I., Loehr, B. & Seif, A.A. (1996) Seasonality of the major cabbage pests and incidence of their natural enemies in central Kenya. pp. 37–42. in Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on DBM: the management of diamondback moth and other crucifer pests.Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia29 October– 1 November 1996.Google Scholar
Ohara, Y., Akio, T. & Takabayashi, J. (2003) Response to host-infested plants in females of Diadegma semiclausum Hellen (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Applied Entomology and Zoology 38, 157–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pivnick, K.A. (1993) Response of Meteorus leviventris (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to mustard oils in field trapping experiments, Journal of Chemical Ecology 19, 2075–2079.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Price, P.W., Bouton, C.E., Gross, P., McPheron, B.A., Thompson, J.N. & Weis, A.E. (1980) Interactions among three trophic levels: influence of plants on interactions between herbivores and natural enemies, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11, 41–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossbach, A., Löhr, B. & Vidal, S. (2005) Generalism versus specialism: responses of Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren) and Diadegma semiclausum (Hellen), to the host shift of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) to peas, Journal of Insect Behavior 18, 491–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelton, A.M., Cooley, R.J., Kroening, M.K., Wilsey, W.T. & Eigenbrode, S.D. (1991) Comparative analysis of two rearing procedures for diamondback moth (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), Journal of Entomological Science 26, 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiojiri, K., Takabayashi, J., Yano, S. & Takafuji, A. (2000) Flight response of parasitoids toward plant–herbivore complexes: a comparative study of two parasitoid–herbivore systems on cabbage plants, Applied Entomology and Zoology 35, 87–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strand, M.R., Johnson, J.A. & Culin, J.R. (1988) Developmental interactions between the parasitoid Microplitis demolitor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and its host Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Annals of the Entomological Society of America 81, 822–830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strong, D.R. (1979) Biogeographic dymanics of insect–host plant communities, Annual Review of Entomology 24, 89–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Talekar, N.S. & Shelton, A.M. (1993) Biology, ecology, and management of the diamondback moth, Annual Review of Entomology 38, 275–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turlings, T.C.J., Tumlinson, J.H., Eller, F.J. & Lewis, W.J. (1991) Larval-damaged plants: source of volatile synomones that guide the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris to the microhabitat of its hosts, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 58, 75–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vet, L.E.M. & Dicke, M. (1992) Ecology of infochemical use by natural enemies in a tritrophic context, Annual Review of Entomology 37, 141–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vinson, S.B. (1976) Host selection by insect parasitoids, Annual Review of Entomology 21, 109–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, J.C., Chu, Y.I. & Talekar, N.S. (1994) Studies on the characteristics of parasitism of Plutella xylostella (Lep.: Plutellidae) by a larval parasite Diadegma semiclausum (Hym.: Ichneumonidae), Entomophaga 39, 397–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaki, F.N., El-Saadany, G., Gomma, A. & Saleh, M. (1998) Increasing rates of parasitism of the larval parasitoid Bracon brevicornis (Hym., Braconidae) by using kairomones, pheromones and a supplementary food, Journal of Applied Entomology 122, 565–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar