Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft (2001) 74, 143-150

Marcel Goverde, Julian Granados and Andrea Erhardt (2001)
Host-plant selection in three different moth larvae
Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 74, 143-150
Abstract: Feeding preferences in three species of polyphagous noctuid larvae (Spodoptera littoralis, S. eridania, and Heliothis virescens) were studied in a greenhouse experiment. Five different tropical humid forest plant species were offered to second and third instar larvae of all three moth species. All larvae preferred mainly one plant species (Gonolobus viridiflorus, Asclepiadaceae) and hardly fed on Thinouia tomocarpa (Sapindaceae) and Swietenia macrophylla (Meliaceae). The latter may be protected from herbivory by their high leaf concentrations of polyphenols and condensed tannins. We correlated larval feeding probabilities with leaf tissue characteristics. Best fit was found for water concentration and specific leaf area while, surprisingly, leaf nitrogen and C/N-ratio did not seem to be the most relevant factor for larval choice behaviour. Furthermore, we could not find a general negative correlation between feeding probability and leaf concentrations of polyphenols and condensed tannins.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
(original language: English)

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

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Heliothis virescens
	Spodoptera littoralis
	Spodoptera eridania