Antagonist effects of the leek Allium porrum as a companion plant on aphid host plant colonization

AbstractCombining a non-host plant (companion plant or CP) with a target cultivated plant is considered as a promising strategy to reduce pest pressure. Among the companion plants (CP) commonly used in integrated systems, those belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family (chives, garlic, onion, leek) exhibit characteristics related to certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with promising repellent potentialities. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential disruption of sweet pepper (host plant) colonization by the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) when exposed to leek (Allium porrum) as a CP. Retention/dispersion, EPG and clip-cage/Petri dish laboratory experiments were thus performed to study the effect of leek VOCs on aphid settlement/migration, feeding behavior and life history traits parameters, respectively. This work revealed that leek as a CP had a negative effect on aphid feeding behavior, by disturbing the balance between phloem and xylem sap ingestion, but had no influence concerning aphid settlement. Surprisingly, leek as a CP triggered some unexpected probiotic effects on certain life history traits such as aphid survival, biomass, and fecundity, suggesting a possible hormetic effect of leek VOCs on aphid physiology. The possibility of experience-induced preference of aphids for leek VOCs was also discussed.

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A novel experimental approach for studying life-history traits of phytophagous arthropods utilizing an artificial culture medium

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-56801-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kamila Karpicka-Ignatowska ◽

Alicja Laska ◽

Lechosław Kuczyński ◽

Brian G. Rector ◽

Mariusz Lewandowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Host Plant ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Culture Medium ◽

Interspecific Interactions ◽

Suitable Condition ◽

Mite Species ◽

Artificial Culture ◽

Wide Range ◽

Artificial Culture Medium

AbstractExperimental approaches to studying life-history traits in minute herbivorous arthropods are hampered by the need to work with detached host plant material and the difficulty of maintaining that material in a suitable condition to support the animal throughout the duration of the test. In order to address this shortcoming, we developed a customizable agar-based medium modified from an established plant cell-culture medium to nourish detached leaves laid atop it while also preventing arthropods from escaping the experimental arena. The artificial culture medium was tested with two herbivorous mite species: the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella; Eriophyidae) and two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae; Tetranychidae). The proposed approach was a major improvement over a standard protocol for prolonged studies of individual eriophyid mites and also provided some benefits for experiments with spider mites. Moreover, the described method can be easily modified according to the requirements of host plant species and applied to a wide range of microherbivore species. Such applications include investigations of life-history traits and other ecological and evolutionary questions, e.g. mating or competitive behaviours or interspecific interactions, assessing invasiveness potential and predicting possible outbreaks. The approach presented here should have a significant impact on the advancement of evolutionary and ecological research on microscopic herbivores.

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Life History Traits of Pseudasphondylia rokuharensis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Affecting Emergence of Adults and Synchronization with Host Plant Phenology

Environmental Entomology ◽

10.1603/0046-225x(2007)36[518:lhtopr]2.0.co;2 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 518-523 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Makoto Tokuda ◽

Junichi Yukawa ◽

Katsuo Gôukon

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Host Plant ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Plant Phenology

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Host plant cultivar of the grapevine moth Lobesia botrana affects the life history traits of an egg parasitoid

Biological Control ◽

10.1016/j.biocontrol.2009.03.017 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 117-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

J. Moreau ◽

A. Richard ◽

B. Benrey ◽

D. Thiéry

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Host Plant ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Egg Parasitoid ◽

Lobesia Botrana ◽

Grapevine Moth

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Analysis of correlation structure in Lymantria dispar L. larvae from locally adapted populations

Archives of Biological Sciences ◽

10.2298/abs1302525m ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 525-531

Author(s):

Marija Mrdakovic ◽

Vesna Peric-Mataruga ◽

Larisa Ilijin ◽

Milena Vlahovic ◽

D. Mircic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Host Plant ◽

Lymantria Dispar ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Digestive Enzyme ◽

Genetic Correlations ◽

Allelochemical Stress ◽

Sib Families ◽

Digestive Enzyme Activities

The influence of allelochemical stress and population origin on the patterns of phenotypic and genetic correlations among life history traits and digestive enzyme activities were investigated in larvae of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.; Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Thirty-two full-sib families from oak (suitable host plant, Quercus population), and twenty-six full-sib families from locust-tree (unsuitable host plant, Robinia population) forests were reared on an artificial diet, with or without a 5% tannic acid supplement. Comparison of correlation matrices revealed significant similarity between the two populations in the structure of phenotypic and genetic correlations of life history traits and of digestive enzyme activities. The patterns of correlations of the examined traits, within each of the two locally adapted populations and in the presence of allelochemical stress, remained stabile despite the different selection pressures that mold these traits.

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