Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2006) 119, 213-219

David Marchand and Jeremy N. McNeil (2006)
Is fruit size important in the selection of oviposition sites by cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii?
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 119 (3), 213-219
Abstract: Under laboratory conditions, females of Acrobasis vaccinii (Riley) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) oviposit significantly more often on larger than on smaller cranberry fruit. This behaviour ensures that neonate larvae have access to maximum resources and are larger when moving to the next fruit. However, while there is some evidence that on a large spatial scale females may lay eggs in patches of larger fruit, there was no evidence of such an oviposition preference within patches in natural bogs. These results may be explained by the fact that the oviposition period for A. vaccinii begins early in the cranberry season, before fructification is completed, leading to potential competition among females for the first fruit present in the environment. Laying eggs on the first fruit available may be advantageous as this behaviour increases the probability that females select unexploited fruit. This strategy would be particularly effective for maximizing female fitness in grazer frugivorous species (such as the cranberry fruitworm) that live in environments where severe climatic conditions induce limited flowering/fruit formation and where hosts thus are rare.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jeremy N. McNeil

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acrobasis vaccinii